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I •

POPULAR CONTROL

OF THE

LIQUOR TRAFFIC

E. R. L GOULD

Lecturer on Sorial Economics and Statistics,
Johns Hopkins University

PRESS OF THK !• RIEDKN VVALD CO.

BALTIMORE

189s

50727

. ' /

CONTENTS.

Introduction 5

Chapter I. — Legal Basis of the Scandinaviaii System, 9
CiiAi'TER II. — Results of the Scandinavian System . . 34

Chapter III. — The Company System the Best Method
of Control 70

Index loi

INTRODUCTION.

A wise control of the liquor traffic is one of the most
pressing social problems of the age. Immoderate
drinking is universally recognized as a leading factor
in crime, pauperism, and a host of moral evils. Its
economic significance is by no means so clearly under-
stood. The annual drink bill of the United Kingdom
approaches $700,000,000. In the United States not
far from $1,000,000,000 are spent evdy year in alco-
holic indulgence. In Germany, Austria and France
the consumption of both spirituous and malt beverages
is progressing at a dangerous pace. Belgium to-day
has a liquor-shop for every thirty-nine inhabitants — a
situation almost justifying the remark of Quirini, a
Venetian envoy in 1505, that there liquor replaces water
as the fourth cosmic element.

The danger resident in these huge national liquor
bills reaches beyond misery and moral degradation.
Civilization itself is menaced by the growing economic
waste. If it be true — and there seems to be a general
opinion to that effect — that excesses are less frequent
now than formerly amongst the upper classes, the
burden must be falling chiefly upon those who are rela-
tively least ible to support it. Certainly the family
budget of the wage-earner is not so flexible that liberal
expenditures for drink may be made with impunity.
So delicately adjusted is the balance that the status of
a new generation is largely determined by the quan-
tity of liquor the fathers consume. Let all interested

IN'TRODUCTION'.

in tlic wcllbciiij^ ol" democracy rcineml)cr this tunda-
montal fact.

In tlie course of official experience I liave had occa-
sion to investigate the social condition of several
thousand workint^nien's families in Europe and the
United States. One result of these pbservations shows
that had alcoholic drinks been entirely abjured, each
family, on the average, mit»ht have added two more
rooms to its habitation. Abstinence consistently fol-
lowed by industrial operatives over a period of years
would have created a fund sufficient to purchase a
home and to appreciably elevate the standard of life.
As it is, saloonkeepers, if the figures are representa-
tive, receive from this element of the population in
five leading countries of the world three-fifths as much
as landlords.

The liquor interest in recent years has grown to be
a factor of considerable political importance. Espe-
cially in American cities has its baneful influence been
felt. Should the representatives of the traffic gain
still greater prestige, as they surely will if not checked,
civic life will be corrupted to the roots. Entire disso-
ciation is the only safeguard.

Few people will deny that the liquor traffic presents
grave public dangers. Yet there is wide divergence
of views regarding proper methods of control. A
most exemplary body of citizens would like to see
radical repression attempted by law. A still larger
contingent are partisans of a liberty so broad as to be
anarchic. Between these two stand the great masses
of the people, not committed to any particular doc-
trines, well enough disposed, perhaps, but failing to
appreciate the urgency of action. They profess them-
selves disgusted with fanaticism, while apprehensive

INTRODUCTION.

uf the cuasL'(iiicncc.s ol present licensinj^ methods. Is
not this the class whicli esi)ecially needs to l)e awak-
ened, informed, and rallied in support of a rational
r6i>ime? They constitute the majority — in Anj^lo-
Saxon countries, at all events — and on them rests the
responsibility of initiative.

The writer has watched with sympathetic interest the
growth of English sentiment in favor of rational temper-
ance reform. It has afforded him unbounded pleasure
to note the formation of the "Public-house Reform
Association." Under the able leadeiship which the
movement already commands, more comprehensive
action than has hitherto characterized English policy
should take place. The present volume has been pre-
pared with the purpose of aiding the association in its
campaign of education. I esteem it a privilege to help,
however humbly, in this good work, and I wish to
acknowledge my obligation to that indefatigable
worker, the Lord Bishop ofChester, for the opportunity.
I have also hoped by this volume, issued, with some
verbal changes, in the United States, to further like
work on this side of the ocean, which Massachusetts,
under the leadership c ' public-spirited temperance
reformers, is initiating.

Over two years ago the United States Department
of Labor sent me to Sweden and Norway, for the
purpose of studying and reporting upon the methods
of controlling the liquor traffic adopted by those
countries. I went there absolutely without prejudice
of any sort ; I came away a convert to the system. The
testimony of facts and the object-lessons afforded on
every hand are conclusive enough to make one feel
that the Scandinavian method, as part of a local-
option system, is the only really practical means

INTRODUCTION.

of dealinj; with the liquor evil in this generation.
This opinion is fortified by knowledg:e and observation
of other systems, gained from nearly five years' exper-
ience as an investigator of social problems in Great
Britain and on the continent of Europe. It is far in
advance, too, of any method which has been tried in
populous centres of the United States. I do not
regard the Scandinavian plan as perfect, but I do
believe it to contain the " promise and the potency "
of higher things. It is a measure of progressive
reform, sound in principle, operating harmoniously
with well-defined laws of social advance, and is easily
adaptable to English and American conditions. Its
trial will do more than anything else yet suggested to
mitigate an intolerable social curse.

POPULAR CONTROL OI' THE
LIOUOR rRAFMC.

CHAPTER I.

I.EGAL BASIS OF THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

In Norway the right to distil is granted to citizens
living in towns, and to owners and occupiers of land
in the country upon which taxes are paid. In Sweden
the payment of a tax on ground owned or leased con-
fers this privilege. There are exceptions in both
countries, which, generally speaking, cover the judi-
ciary, clergy, municipal, military, police and fiscal
officers. None of these may engage in the manufac-
ture of spirits. Distilling apparatus in Norway must
have a minimum capacity of twenty-five gallons; no
kindred restriction prevails in the sister kingdom.
Distilling in both countries is conducted underlicenses
granted by the provincial governors, who are appointees
of the crown. It may be carried on in Norway during
^nine and a half months, and in Sweden during eight
° months of the year. A tax is levied in Norway every
time any distilling is done, counting fifteen days as a
minimum time of operation, and 5065 gallons as the
assessed production. This provision is aimed at
domestic distilling, and is designed to concentrate the
business in a few hands. In Sweden the minimum
production for the total period of eight months is fixed

xIE LIOUOR TRAFFIC.

at 2113 gallons. Th ordinary revenue tax is 50 cents
per gallon, but a supplemental excise of 10 cents a
gallon is assessed whenever the daily product is less
than 132 gallons or exceeds 1320 gallons. The gen-
eral object of these regulations is to make distilling an
industry instead of a domestic pursuit, as it formerly
was. Their effect has been to notably diminish the
number of manufactories. In Norway only twenty-one
distilleries are in operation at the present time. The
minimum quantity which distillers may sell at one
time is now fixed at 66 gallons in both Norwegian and
Swedish law.

A sharp distinction is drawn in both countries be-
tween the sale of spirituous liquors and of wine and
malt beverages. Historically there is a reason for
this. When temperance agitation first began, effort
was directed solely against the ?buse of spirits, and it
was considered distinctly a temperance measureto advo-
cate wine and beer as substitutes. Naturally, since
public agitation concerned itself so much with the one,
the law has been uniquely occupied therewith. Now,
however, the encouragement of wine and beer drinking
is iir- part of the temperance propaganda, and the
ettorts of teetotalers and moderates alike are being
directed to secure an effective control of the sale of
fermented beverages as well.

By " retail and bar trade" is meant traffic in native
spirits* in quantities less than 66 gallons at one time.

* The native spirit of the Scandinavians is commonly called
"braendvin," generally translated into English as "brandy."
When, therefore, in the succeeding pages the occasion arises
to use this word, it must be understood as referring to a liquor
distilled from.potatoes or corn, and containing from 40 to 50
per cent, of alcohol.

Till-: SCAXniXAVIAN SYSTEM.

The alcoholic conieiit ranges from 40 to 50 per cent.
In Norway the minimum for retail sales is placed at
.35 of a quart, while in Sweden it is a little over a quart
(1.056 quarts).

The licensing system is the underlying principle of
the liquor laws of Sweden and Norway, but so modi-
fied that prohibition is not only made possible but
actually encouraged in rural communities. For the
larger municipalities also the door is left wide open to
local option, as no license may be granted if the people
so express their will through their chosen representa-
tives.* In the country the policy is to favor prohibi-
tion. So successfully has this latter been carried out
that few licenses are in operation in the rural districts
of either of the two countries. In Norway a country
innkeeper was not obliged to keep spirits on hand, and
he was expressly forbidden to sell to any person living
v/ithin a radius of 3! miles from his hostelry. Proba-
bly few men were thirsty enough to hitch up their
horses and drive seven miles or more for the purpose
of getting a drink. Under the new law the bar trade
in spirits is interdicted in country communities. Rep-
resentatives of foreign firms are forbidden to canvass
for orders. As far as possible, complete domestic
control is secured.

The licensing authorities in the cities, towns and
villages of both countries are the magistracy, acting
with the advice of the municipal representatives or
general town meeting, and with the hernial assent ot
the governor. The reason why the latter functionary
is made a party to the transaction is that, ex officio, he

*The Norwegian law of July, 1894, establishes local option
by direct vote on the question of license m each coninuinity.
(Jn this question both men and women are entitled to vote.

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

is the chief of the police system of the province.
Hence, when consenting to licensing concessions he
will naturally have in mind the facilities offered for
policing saloons, and knows better, perhaps, than any
one else the records of the applicants.

The prevailing method of public control is the
so-called " company monopoly." This feature was
authorized in Sweden in 1855, and in Norway in 187 1.
It has so largely superseded the practice of disposal
of licenses at auction that in Norway, to-day, fifty-one
towns* and landing places, including all of any impor-
tance, have adopted the plan. In Sweden seventy-
eight towns have granted the monopoly to brandy
companies; in twelve the sale by auction, 2. e. granting
individual licenses for retail and bar sale of spirits to
those who offered to pay an excise tax of 4 cents a quart
on the highest amount of probable sales, with 798^
gallons as a minimum, is still adhered to; in ten there
are privileged licenses only, /. e. licenses granted
previous to 1855 by royal warrant and good for the
lifetime of the holder; and in two small towns prohibi-
tion prevails. Generally speaking, in the country pro-
hibition, and in the towns, the company system, repre-
sent normal conditions. Considering the enormous
territorial extent of the two Scandinavian kingdoms
and the preponderance of the agricultural population,
it is not difficult to see that the majority of the people
live under a regime of local prohibition. Local option
is in Sweden and Norway a concomitant of the com-
pany system.

The licensing authorities in any community are
authorized to grant a monopoly of the retail and bar

*" Towns " here used to include cities and larger centres of
population as distinguished from rural communities.

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

sale of spirituous liquors to a commercial company
formed for the purpose of undertaking them, without
any other financial return than a rate of interest on
capital invested of 5 per cent, in Norway and 6 per
cent, in Sweden. Strictly speaking, the Norwegian
law does not fix the rate, the by-laws of the companies
prescribing it under the sanction of the Home Depart-
ment. Five per cent, has become the customary
fir are. All remaining profits go either to the munici-
pal treasuries (Sweden) or are applied (Norway)
largely to objects of public utility, except 15 per cent,
which is paid into the local treasury in lieu of the
excise tax on consumption, now abolished.

The fundamental idea in the minds of the inaugu-
rators was to create a system where the element of
private gain should be eliminated from the sale of
intoxicating liquors. They meant to attack the evil
directly from its economic side, and in this they acted
wisely. Any plan to be effective must comprise this
feature. Men engage in the hquor traffic, not deliber-
ately to ruin their fellowkind, but to make money,
and, as a rule, all the money they can. Remove the
motive and a bulwark is erected against abuse. It is
true that there will be for a time an overflow, but this
represents a positive demand for consumption, and
can be provided for by the company monopoly plan.
Sounder education, temperance propagandism, hy-
gienic ameliorations, and a host of other things will so
diminish the feeding streams that ultimately the over-
flow may entirely cease.

Shareholders in companies are, as a rule, persons
who have public interests deeply at heart. Never has
the stock, as is sometimes alleged, been held for
speculative purposes. Three-fourths of the shares of

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

all the companies in Norway are now owned in hold-
ings of one. In Sweden the shares often figure in the
list of donations to public and philanthropic institu-
tions, the original owners having so disposed of their
holdings at death. During recent years, in Norway,
shares have sometimes changed hands at a premium.
Enemies of the system have cited this as evidence that
speculation was rife. A satisfactory explanation is
easily found when one understands that the posses-
sion of a share has hitherto given the holder the right
to vote at the annual distribution of the profits arising
from the company's operations. Persons interested in
particular institutions naturally sought the privilege of
voting in order that due recognition might be given
them.

The statement that shares have changed hands for
speculative purposes is positively ridiculous. In Nor-
Wi^y, as I have already pointed out, three-fourths are
distributed in holdings of one. The capital stock is
always small, both absolutely and in proportion to
business done. The Christiania company is capitalized
at $42,880, and the Langesund company at $160.
They are respectively the largest and smallest in Nor-
way. Mr. Koren, in the report of the Massachusetts
Legislative Commission, has pointed out that the
largest dividends in 1892 were paid to the shareholders
in the Christiania company, and they received on the
average $15 each. The proportion declines until we
reach the Tonsberg company, whose sharetiolders
were remunerated at the rate of 13 cents.

Small as the share capital of companies is, it is
hardly ever fully called in. Frequently not more than
cent, is paid up. Interest is receiv

■5 per

only

the quota paid in. Even though the rate may be

TlIK SCANDINAVIAN SVSTKM.

slightly higher than current payments by sound finan-
cial institutions, it amounts to nothing when we con-
sider what a mere pittance individuals receive. There
never was a more senseless charge against the Nor-
wegian system than tha*^ .vhich intimates that liquor
companies are run for the benefit ol shareholders.

But what guarantee is there that the companies will
entertain a loftier conception of civic responsibilities
than individual liquor-sellers ? Will they not seek to
exploit the business /r^ bono publico f In the first
place, they are public corporations, whose by-laws
receive official sanction, and wTio make, one may say,
with the licensing authorities certain definite contracts.
Secondly, for forgetfulness of public weal or for any
breach of trust the governor has the right to withdraw
the license privileges without compensation. Approval
of the by-laws also being " only for the present," the
government ma}'' at any time bring a faithless corpo-
ration to a change in policy simply by threatening it
with extinction. The control is strict, and one com-
pany has been so treated. More frequent necessity
has not arisen. Thirdly, the licensing periods are
very short, five years in Norway and three years in
Sweden, except in the smaller towns, where one year
completes the term. Fourthly, the character of men,
who, if not precisely from a sense of duty, at least with
the certainty of no financial reward, become interested
in the liquor traffic, is almost alone a guarantee that
philanthropic management will prevail.

An intimate relation exists between public authori-
ties and the companies. In the first place, as we have
already seen, the by-laws are subject to the approval
of the magistracy, municipal council, and governor.
Closing the public-houses in cases of emergency legally

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

takes place upon the order of the governor. The
sanction of public authority is given to the price-lists.
A reduction in the number of licenses may be effected
arbitrarily at the end of any licensing period by popu-
lar vote. In Norway the appointment of bartenders
and other officers is subject to confirmation by the
magistrac}'^ and municipal council.

In this close alliance there reside a benefit and a
danger. Every effort made to enjoin upon the com-
panies a proper consideration of public interest and
convenience represents the former ; but from the civic
standpoint, the intimate intervention of the local gov-
ernment, especially in communities where standards of
political morality are not as high as they are in ihe
Scandinavian peninsula, may lead to serious inconve-
nience, and even danger. From these theoretical
considerations in the present instance a final appeal
must be made to the economic, social, and moral
experiences resulting from the operation of the system.
Their consideration will assuredly convince an impar-
tial person that the practical benefits have far out-
weighed the possible drawbacks. Indeed, very few of
the latter have ever been realized.

Regulations for policing public-houses and retail
shops respond, on the whole, to leading requirements.
Sales are forbidden to minors — that is, to persons less
than fifteen years of age. The companies have volun-
tarily and universally raised the limit to eighteen.
Retail shops are closed on Sundays and holidays in
both countries. Saloons in Norway are shut from
I p. m. on Saturday until 8 a. m. on Monday, and
for these same hours on days preceding and succeed-
ing holidays. On other we.ekdayj? they are open
from 8 a. m. to 7.30 p. m., as a rule. In some of the

I ;

THE SCANDINAVIAN SVSTEM.

towns they close in tlie middle of the day for an hour
and a half, the idea being to withdraw from the work-
inginan the temptation to drink while goinji^ from his
work to his home for the midday meal. In the even-
ing- the hour for closing comes so early that carousing
is practically an impossibility. Indeed, but little time
is left after the working-day is over in which to secure
drink at all. In Sweden bars are open on Sundays at
mealtimes only, and sales are restricted to guests
eating. On weekdays the hours prescribed are 9 a.m.
to 10 p. m. in towns and villages, and till 8 p. m. in the
country. As regards the morning hour, the governors
have authority — and usually exercise it in the case of
larger cities — to grant exceptions to this rule, so as to
permit the opening of the restaurant-bars at an earlier
hour. This, however, is not meant to afford extra
opportunity for drinking, but to respond to the needs
of unmarried male workers, who from time immemo-
rial, in Swedish cities, have been accustomed to take
their meals in public-houses. The practice furnishes
an explanation to the Swedish law prescribing that
cooked food shall be kept on hand in every bar-trade
place. "^ In Norway, national customs being different,
quite another policy as regards food has been adopted.
No loitering whatever is permitted in public-houses;
indeed, in the majority of them no seats may be found.
As soon as a man has taken his drink he must leave
the premises. In .both countries the sale of brandy to
intoxicated persons, or in such quantities that intoxica-
tion is likely to ensue, is illegal, while debts contracted
for liquor are not recoverable. Business is carried

"*There are scarcely any bars in Sweden such as one sees in
England and the United States. Rather should we calf them
"saloon-restaurants."

1 8

THE MOU(^K 'I"KArFlC.

on strictly for cash at all i)l.Aces of sale 'oelonginj^ to
the companies.

Early-closing is fraught with important and benefi-
cent consequences. The saloon is the one social
institution with which avast majority of our city popu-
lations is intimately acquainted. To its hospitable
counter the workingman repairs on pay-day to treat
his foreman and his comrades. Before leaving, a
fourth part of his weekly wages has disappeared.
Enough is saved to pay the rent ; the family must get
along somehow with the rest. An evening's convi-
viality has to offset restricted nourishment, reduced
vitahty, loss of social opportunities to the children,
and an ever-widening domestic breach. The Norwe-
gian practice of opening sa'oons at eightin the morn-
ing on weekdays, and closing them at half past seven
— excej-tt Saturdays, when they are shut up at one — is
entirely commendable. The temptation to carouse is
almost obliterated, for the time and opportunity are
lacking. But it is manifestly impossible to insist on
such early closing where ordinary licensing prevails.
When financial gain plays no part it matters not how
short is the period of sale ; but certainly it is not just
to charge the saloonkeeper under the private profit
system a good round sum for his privilege and then
forbid him to ply his trade when he has the best
opportunities for making money.

The Scandinavian method offers other important
advantages for the reformation of what one may call
the "saloon habit " of workingpeople. Drinking is not
the only — nor, indeed, the principal — motive. The
craving for recreation, amusement, and human inter-
course brings them to the saloon. The Gothenburg
company rendered an important service when it can-

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

didly recognized the need of popular social centres.
A part of its profits are annually spent in the mainte-
nance of five reading, writing, and club-rooms. Light
refreshments are served, hut ministry to the gregari-
ous instincts is the raison d'Hre. The attendance
record of 217,207 visits in 1892 is a fair measure of
appreciation.

Not satisfied with this, the company has established
an intermediate agency fc inducing workingmen to
break away from saloons. It has opened four restaur-
ants, where bountiful portions of food are provided at
cost price. Cooking is made an art, and the service
all that can be wished. Only a single glass of liquor
is allowed (on paying for it, of course) at meals ; but
so superior have become the attractions of good food
that not more than one-third of the customers now
think of demanding it. About $1000 annual loss
results from running the eating-houses, but the policy
indicated furnishes the strongest possible evidence
that the company has not forgotten its philanthropic
aims.

As regards wine and beer, it is only necessary to
say that few restrictions are enjoined upon their sale.
Licenses are granted for the bar-trade upon payment
of an exceedingly small sum. It has been calculated
that, for most Norwegian towns, the profits derived
from the sale of four bottles daily would amply indem-
nify the holder for the cost of his license. Any mer-
chant may dispose of beer in bottles. Those who
possess brandy licenses have ipso facto the right to
dispense fermented beverages. There is no excise tax
on either beer or malt. One cannot wonder, there-
fore, that with the spirit trade so heavily handicapped,
and so large a measure of freedom accorded to fer-

IMK F loroK TRAI'I'IC.

nientecl beveraj^cs, tlie consumpiion of the latter sliould
have <;reatly increased ; still, the ratio of advance is
much smaller than in many other countries — the
United States, for example.

To persons unacquainted with liie liquor trade it
appears remarkable that tlie capital stock of tliese
brandy monopolizing companies sliould be so small.
Were the facts better known, surprise would not be
felt, even though the annual balance shoukl frequently
represent several times the amount of the capital
actually invested. This is a general condition which
happens to be particularly well illustrated in the case
of Norway and Sweden, as the following statement
will show : —

Locality. Ciipital Stock.

(JrojsUcceipts

Net Profits.

Christiania $42,880

Ber<'en 21 440

$346,235
197,280
2(58, 5;!0
643,095
860,835

$74,005
43,835
112,2(50
413,495
380,990

Gothenburg 27,470

Stockholm 43,202

Norway (as a whole) 164,210

The figui'es in the columit headed " net profits" in
the above table exclude the excise paid annually to
the municipality for the license monopoly. In the
present instance, one might with perfect propriety
include these sums. If one does so, taking Norway
as an example, the credit balance would be swelled by
$105,955 or to the total of $486,945 instead of $380,990.

Reference to the table also shows that the ratio
between sales and profits is by no means the same in
the four Scandinavian cities. The net surplus is about
64 per cent, of the receipts in Stockholm and 42 per
cent, in Gothenburg, while it represents 21 per cent.

Till': SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

in Christii. iia and 22 per cent, in Bergen. There are
several reasons for this, but the principal one is that
the consumption per h»^ad of population is greater —
indeed, more than double — in the Swedish than in the
Norwegian towns. As between Stockholm and Cioth-
enburg a readjustment of accounts this particular year
explains tlie disparity. The different methods of
sub-licensing also exert an influence. In Norway the
companies reserve the monopoly of sale of higher-
grade spirits, cordials, etc., whereas in Sweden this
trade is largely conceded to regular wine merchants,
restaurant and hotelkeepers. Interest-charges on
large stocks, shrinkage and breakage, absorb consid-
erable sums. Again, the Norwegian hotelkeeper has
no motive to push the sale of high-grade spirits, since
all pecuniary advantages belong to the companies.

When Stockholm, profiting by the example of
Gothenburg in giving a company the control of the
liquor traffic, proposed to buy out and pension off all
the publicans and retail dealers in spirits, in order to
secure a complete monopoly of the business, the pro-
ject met with oppi jition on the ground that to under-
take such a financial risk would not only be absurd,
but would bankrupt all who were hardy enough to
invest their funds in the enterprise. The city perse-
vered, however, and after one or two unsuccessful
attempts, finally succeeded in arranging with every
holder of a license for the surrender of his privilege in
return for a life pension, varying, of course, in propor-
tion to the value of his business. It was found at the
expiration of the first year's operation that, after setting
aside a fair amount for reserve and paying a dividend of
6 per cent, to shareholders, besides, of course, meeting
all necessary expenses, a sufficient sum remained in

TIIK [JOUOR TRAIFIC.

the treasury to liquidate the pensions of all the
ex-salocnkeepcrs of Stockholm for two and a half years
to come.

The by-laws of the various companies are, as has
already been noted, subject to the approval of the
magistracy, the municipal council, and the governor.
Their contents deal mainly with the amount of capital
stock and method ot payment for shares, the qualifica-
tions and duties of shareholders and directors, the
obligations of employees, and rules of internal admin-
istration. In Sweden, surviving shareholders are
usually given an option on the purchase of shares
otfered for sale. The design is to secure a perpetua-
tion of management along good lines.

The contracts made with such employees of the
companies as managers of bars, retail shops and eat-
ing houses, show how much the public interest is con-
sidered. It is specifically stipulated that all sales
shall be on corporation account, the employees deriv-
ing absolutely no benefit therefrom. The original
practice was different, and the present one was inaug-
urated as the result of experience. At Gothenburg,
a certain kind of maudlin sympathy dictated the
employment of ex bartenders and saloonkeepers
as servants of the company. Their salaries were pro-
vided for, in part, by a certain percentage on sales.
The experiment resulted in abject failure, as might
have been foreseen. The keystone of the new r6gime
was discouragement of drinking ; and it should have
been recognized as absurd to expect men of this class to
ignore both the influences of habit and the stimulus of
self-interest. Here is the groundwork of the charge
first formulated against the Gothenburg company — of
disregarding the .public interest, and of permitting

THE hCAM)INA\ IAN SVSTKM.

pretended philanthropy to de^tjenerate into positive
aggrandisement. No conij)any since, so far as I am
aware, has ever attempted to pay its employees in any
other fashion than a stipuhited sahiry. The conjpen-
sation is liberal, conforming closely to prevailinj^'^ busi-
ness stipends, and the companies have no difficulty in
securing; efficient help.

In Sweden where manaj^ers are compelled to keep
well-cooked food, non-spirituous beverages, and cij»ars
always on hand, the profits from these sales form a
substantial jierquisite. They employ their own assist-
ants, subject to the approval of the company. The
latter allows fixed indemnities — two thirds of which
are paid to the servant in cash, while l)oard and lodg-
ing stand for the other third. Managers must follow
the fixed tariff of prices, and serve liquors in glasses
belonging to the company. They are held personally
responsible for the observance of all regulations, and
are forbidden to sell to minors under eighteen years of
age (three years beyond the legal limit) and to intox-
icated persons. They are not allowed 10 follow any
other occupation whatever during their period of
service. Honesty, fidelity and efficiency are the con-
ditions of continued employment, as their supposed
possession furnishes the sole motive for original
appointment.

A perfect method of control and account prevents
either the giving away or fraudulent disposal of liquors
by managers or any of the company's assistants.
Civil service rules are applied in promotions, the chief
requirement being length of service combined with
good conduct. In cases where several individuals pre-
sented equal merits on this point, the preference would
be given io the employee whose record of sales v^as
the lowest.

THE LIQUOR TKAK I'lC.

Besides the nian<igers, each company has inspectors,
who [TO around and see that the quahty of the hquor
offered for sale is g'ood, exaniijie the control books,
and see that rules and regulations are being properly
observed.

In addition to their salary, managers are allowed
the profits resulting from the sale of mineral waters,
beer, and cigars, which sale they conduct on their
own account. But in Norway, (and s nee October i,
1893, ''1 Gothenburg itself,) recent regulations do not
permit employees to receive profits from the sale of
beer. Practically, the only other difference between
the contracts made with company officials in Sweden
and Norway is, that in the latter country the obliga-
tion to provide cooked food is not incurred. The
motive is quite clear. The habit of the Norwegian
workingman is not to take his meals in drinking places,
whereas in Sweden the contrary custom prevails.

An habitual drunkard, in Norway, finds it increas-
ingly difficult to debauch himself. Many companies
furnish their bartenders with the names of persons
who are sure to " get on a spree " every time they
commence to drink. People so blacklisted are generally
refused. The law fully justifies the conduct of the
company in requiring that liquor shall not be sold to
persons already intoxicated, or in such quantities that
intoxication is likely to ensue. The smallest glass fires
tlie appetite of the habitual drunkard into perfect
uncontrollability.

No loitering is allowed in Norwegian bars. A cus-
tomer, after drinking, must leave the premises forth-
with.

Up to the present reference has only been made to
thf places of bar and retail sale conducted by the co li-

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

pany on its own account. Hotels, restaurants, and
clubs have not been considered. In this matter a
radical difTerence prevails in the practices of the two
Scandinavian kinodoms, and, therefore, an explanation
of each must be given separately.

In Norway the custom is to make the proprietor or
lessee of the hotel, restaurant, or club, for the time
beincT, an employee of the company. I le is conceded
the privilege of selling spirituous liquors, both native
and imported, but he may not derive any personal
benefit from their sale. As the agent of the company
he is paid a salary, but all profits go into the corpora-
tion treasury. He likewise puts himself under a
heavy bond for the faithful performance of his obliga-
tions. This is the general practice. In certain towns,
notably In Bergen, no privileges of the kind referred
to are conceded.

The Swedish practice is to grant sub-licenses to
owners or lessees of hotels, restaurants, and bona fide
clubs, whose character has been approved by the
licensing authorities, for the sale of imported and high
grade liquors and, sometimes also " arrac " punch.
The companies reserve to themselves, however, the
traffic in all spirits or potions compounded therefrom
which contain, at 15° Centigrade, more than 23 to 25
per cent, of alcohol. This is uniformly reserved as
the monopoly of the company. Neither do the com-
panies, in sub-licensing, transfer the sole right of sell-
ing the weaker spirits. They do a little of this class
of business themselves. The compensation required
of holders of sub-licenses is -simply the regularly
assessed excise tax upon probable consumption. It
is estimated in different fashions. In Stockholm it is
liberally guessed at, but in Gothenburg sales' books

THE LIOUOR TRAKFIC,

have been called for in order that a correct assessment
may be made.

The company monopoly presents at this point cer-
tain advantages which we should do well to consider.
By this method of sub-licensing it is possible to sup-
press gambling and immorality, which so frequently
flourish in connection with saloons. The contracts
are made annually with the sub-licensees, and, as we
have already seen, the friendly relations between the
companies and the public authorities make it easier to
interpose special stipulations to prevent any ulterior
abuse. As a fact, the companies uniformly do this
whenever requested by the police. They sometimes
go so far as to withhold the privilege from an indi-
vidual who has wilfully or obstinately transgressed
the bounds of propriety in the past.

An interesting case came under my own observation
while in Stockholm. The lessee of a large amuse-
ment cafe had, in contravention of his contract with
the company and in opposition to the expressed wishes
of the police department, conducted the sale of liquor
in certain quarters of his premises devoted to amuse-
ments. Paying no heed to official remonstrances, he
was brought to his senses at the end of the year by
the company refusing him a sub-license unless he
conformed in every respect to the requirements of the
police department. His justitication for the trans-
gression was that the sum he was compelled to pay
was already so high that he could not recoup himself
unless he offered some special attractions with the sale
of drinks. In the new contract he was obliged to
accept all the conditions imposed, and, as a kind of
semi-official penalty, to pay the large amount previ-
ously required.

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

It should be remarked that the semi-public relations
of these brandy companies are such that it is impossible
for them to allow any gambling or immoral features in
connection with the sale of drink in their own saloons
or other places. If they did, considering their avow-
edly high aim, public sentiment would be so aroused
against them that the monopoly would be very speedily
done away with and their existence ended. As regards
other places, the method of sub-licensing under such
hard-and-fast conditions effectually brings the third
party under the control of the police authorities and
systematically checks abuses. To say positively,
without fear of controversion in the smallest detail,
that gambling and sexual immorality have been entirely
dissociated from the saloon under the Scandinavian
system, is to sound no uncertain note of praise.

There exists a sharpdistinction between the methods
of distributing the profits of brandy companies in
Sweden and Norway. In the latter, appropriations
are determined by a committee, in which the share-
holders and the public are usually equally represented.
Shareholders elect their substitutes, while the municipal
council selects the public representatives. The surplus
remaining after making provision for all expenses and
a 5 per cent, dividend, and after a reserve equal in
amount to the capital stock has been once created,
was until 1894 awarded to objects of public utility
which the municipality was not by law already obliged
to support. Under the r.ew law 20 per cent, is retained
by the companies to be distributed as formerly, but
especially for the promotion" of temperance; 15 per
cent, is paid into the municipal treasury as indemnity
for the abolished excise on probable consumption in
lieu of license fees, and 65 per cent, goes to the general

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

government to constitute a special fund for old age
pensions or other forms of labor insurance. An
analysis of the profits distributed during the decade
from 1880 to 1890 shows that the average annual
amount was equal to about $320,000. 19 per cent,
of this was given to various educational objects,
7 per cent, was awarded to public institutions, 62 per
cent, went for the creation or improvement of parks
and highways, and ly^^ per cent, was bestowed in the
form of subsidies upon various teetotal organizations
for the purpose of aiding them in their propaganda.

The Norwegian method is salutary from a triple
point of view. No part of the surplus can be applied to
lessen the general tax- rate, the old excise tax on prob-
able consumption having been applied to the poor fund.
The fact that in Sweden the local municipal treasury
is the chief recipient has been understood by unin-
formed or hostile persons to indicate that public
cupidity had simply taken the place of private gain in
the conduct of the liquor traffic. The charge is quite
unfounded, unless with the rarest possible exceptions.
Secondly, the sense of local civic responsibility is
maintained. Thirdly, the philanthropic energies of a
community are stimulated and extended. Fourthly,
an universally felt social need, in European countries at
least, labor insurance, is about to be provided for.

In Sweden a tripartite system of distribution pre-
vails. The municipality, as a rule, receives seven-
tenths. Two-tenths belong to the general government
and one-tenth is accredited to the agricultural society
of the neighborhood. Accounts are audited by per-
sons representing each of these three parties, and con-
sequently there is no loophole for fraud. Stockholm
receives eight-tenths, and cities of the third rank get

THE SCANDINAVIAN SVSTKM.

otiiy five-tenths ; tlie country comnumities in the hitter
case profit in,^ from the rehitively smaller share granted
to llie urban.

Considerations of equity dictate that a portion of
the profits shall ^oto the country. Since the company
plan was inauj^urated, licenses have practically disap-
peared in rural districts, involvin<:^ necessarily the loss
of excise. Drinking, however, has not wholly ceased;
for peasants coming to town very frequently provide
themselves with liquor, and, unfortunately, often take
advantage of the rare opportunity to absorb too much.
The country communities, therefore, claim that, having
lost In two ways by the company system, they are
entitled to receive a portion of the profits. Their plea
has been admitted. In Sweden farming is the staple
occupation and the great source of prosperity. Avji
cultural societies have for their object the spread of
scientific knowledge in relation to cultivation, the
introduction of better breeds of stock, kinds of cereals,
etc. Ilence the subsidy.

The average annual profits of all Swedish brandy
companies during the decade from 1880 to 1S90 were
about ^1,600,000.

The question of profits of brandy companies under
the Scandinavian system has received a great deal of
attention. Many temperance people believe that they
have here found a vulnerable point. Others take the
high ground that public sanction, which, according to
the Swedish practice, is in a measure involved, is
iniquitous; and that financial resources coming from
the sale of drink should be considered a kind of
" blood-money." Furthermore, they believe that
distributing profits in this fashion entails a certain
relief from taxation, and, consequently, the system

THK LIQUOR TKAKFIC.

becomes fastened more surely and permanently upon
the body politic. It is extremely bad morality, they
say, for taxpayers to receive benefit in any way from
the consumption of drink. Such arq^uments are by no
means unreasonable, but in the present instance they
do not represent facts. The annual profit-balance is
so light in comparison with the total national tax, that
the relief accorded the contributor is not much greater
than the lowering of the water-line of a large reservoir
whence a few buckets have been bailed. A careful
investigation upon this point leads me to believe that,
far from the tax-bills in any given locality having been
reduced as the result of this system of distribution, the
community has benefited by increased expenditures
upon objects of public utility which otherwise might
not have been possible. I do not think it can be suc-
cessfully demonstrated that the tax-payers have been
relieved by the income from brandy companies. That
the companies themselves have no motives to create
profits is incontestable. Shareholders can receive no
pecuniary advantage beyond that which a 5 per cent,
or 6 per cent, dividend upon the amount paid up on
their shares confers. Owing to the lucrative character
of the business, the sum necessary to pay this is easy
enough to gain. The most that can be said is that
the municipal purse has been made more open, and
public contributions more generous, because of the
proceeds received from the sale of liquor.

Another purely theoretical objection is that, under
the Swedish method, public cupidity simply takes the
place of private. The fear is entertained that, once
aroused, civic greed may go farther, and show itself
more difficult to restrain. The answer to this is evi-
dent enough. A community which sought to thrive

T HE SC A N I") I N A V ! A N S\ S T I', M .

on the misfortune of its members could not very long
exist. The poor-rate and expenses for criminal and
reformatory establishments would not be long in
al)sorbing far more than the profits derived from the
liquor trade, no matter how much the consumption of
drink was encouraged. Thus a practical limit exists
to the extension of public cupidity. The community
if it does wrong has to bear its own burdens ; whereas
under the private-profit system the private trader
pockets the gains and leaves the evil consequences to
the community.

From the ethical point of view, it can make no dif-
ference whether the beverage which debauches is
served by a quasi-public corporation or an individual.
But it matters considerably in the economic sense. In
the one case, society bears the burden exclusively ; in
the other, it is partially recouped. The Scandinavian
plan was never designed to prohibit the consumption
of liquor, or to eradicate all the evils to which
immoderate drinking gives rise ; although attached to
a local-option system, it leaves opportunity for local
prohibition wherever public opinion demands and
supports it. it was particularly intended to check
the vice of drunkenness by lessening temptation and
by reducing consumption to normal requirements.
The public-house is put under such heavy bonds, so
to speak, that it is more and more regarded as a
reformatory institution, and shunned by self-respect-
ing people. The liberty to drink, if one wants to, and
has the necessary means to purchase liquor, is fully
conceded, but abuse of this right is carefully and effect-
ually restrained. In short, the methods employed are
educational rather than repressive. The end sought
is the reformation of popular habits, and it is reached

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

by a series of evolutionary stages, each one of which
finds sanction in advancing i)nl)lic sentiment.

Probably no system for distril)Uiino ilie profits of the
liquor trade could be devised .vhich would be entirely
free from theoretical objections or practical difificulties.
Neither of the plans adopted in Sweden and Norway
measures up to an ideal standard. F'inland has tried
a compromise which is worthy of mention. The
surplus is given, one-half to the town in whicli the
brandy company is located, one fourth to the country
communities of the province in proportion to popula-
tion, one-eighth to the local agricultural societies, and
one-eighth to the company itself. The apportionment
t ) urban and rural districts, three-fourths of the entire
sum, must be distributed amongst local objects of public
utility, those aiming at the promotion of temperance,
public health and education, and the care of the poor,
having the first claim. The part given to agricultural
societies is spent to further the obvious ends of these
organizations. The one-eighth left to the brandy com-
pany is expended in the promotion of public welfare,
but it may not be given to any object or institution
maintained either wholly or in part by municipal taxa-
tion. The merits of the Finnish practice are apparent.
Liquor money may not be used to relieve local taxa-
tion, and the objects for which the major part of it is
expended are specified by statute.

It is undeniable that a wise disposition of revenues
derived from the trade in spirits presents many per-
plexing difficulties. I have elsewhere* referred to
some of them in discussing the adaptation of the Scan-
dinavian system to American needs. Standards of

*" Atlantic Monthly," October, 1893, and "The Forum,"
March, 1894.

THE SCANDINAVIAN SVSTICM.

civic morality are lower in the United States— and I
believe in England, too— than in th ^ Scandinavian
peninsula. Such safeguards must be devised that
leakage of any kind will be impossible. Disposition
of at least the major portion of profits by legal enact-
ment seems highly desirable, while the strictest form
of public audit is a necessity.

(

CHAPTER II.

RESULTS OF THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

There is but one satisfactory test of the efficacy of
any method of controlling the liquor traffic, and that
is the per capita consumption of drink. Even such
statistics do not afford an entirely accurate judj^ment.
For instance, they cannot show the abuse of liquor,
since one is unable to measure the particular part
which has produced intoxication. Every customer is
by no means an inebriate. Indeed, in some countries
such as Denmark, where the annual quantity of spirits
drunk per inhabitant is larger than almost anywhere
else, the people have a well-deserved reputation for
sobriety. There the practice is to drink chiefly at
mealtime. Neithjr can we consider consumption of
spirits apart from economic conditions. A rise or fall
in general prosperity is always accompanied by changes
in drinking habits. Particularly when the working
classes receive high or low wages will marked fluctua-
tions be observed. It is well known that the British
Chancellor of the Exchequer has recourse to the
** spirit barometer " in his budgetory estimates of
national prosperity.

Before seeking to draw inferences from the statistics
of consumption of spirits in Sweden and Norway one
must understand on what basis they are prepared.
Smce the Government regulates the manufacture, the
total quantity distilled each year is well known. The
difference, too, between exports and imports is easily
established ; but in calculating the consumption for
any particular year allowance has to be made for a

IHK SCANDINAVIAN SVSTKM.

considerable quantity stored away for sonic future
time — a quantity which ouj^ht to be credited to the
year when it is drunk. Furthermore, it is not known
jusf how much alcohol is consumed in the industrial
arts. The thin<r which is known absolutely is the
quantity sold by the companies.

Theaverageannual consumption ofspirituous liquors
in Sweden by five-yar periods, beginning with 1856,
has been as follows :

1856-60 .
1861-65 .
1866-70 .
1871-75 .

Quarts por
Inliabltaiit.
. 10.03
. 11.31
. 9.40
. 12.47

1876-80
1881-85
1886-90

Quarts per
luliahitaut.
. 10.67
8.66

• 7.42

Part of the period from 1871-75 falls in the golden
age of wage-earners ; work was then abundant and
remuneration higher than it has ever been before or
since. There is nothing incongruous, therefore, con-
sidering what has already been said on the influence
of economic conditions, in the sharp advance in alco-
holic consumption during these years. After 1876 or
1878 the company system took firm root in the
eastern Scandinavian kingdom, and since then there
has been a notable diminution in the quantities con-
sumed.

The influence of the company plan on the consump-
t-'on of spirits is better shown in the table given below.

1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883

Quarts per
Iiiliabitant.

. 14.2
. . 12.9
■ . 13.1

. 11.2

. 11.0

. 9.2

. 8.5

. 9.4

. 8.4

. 7.1

1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892

Quarts per
Inhabitant.

. . 8.5

. . 8.6

. . 8.2

. . 7.3

. . 7.0

. . 6.5

. . 7.3

. , 6.7

. . 6.8

Till': I.IOLOU TKAl ric.

In 1874, the first conii)any, tlie riothenl)urjr, re-
ceived a monopoly of retail- as well as bar-trade.
Beginninj; with that year and closing with 1892, the
latest date for which statistics are available, we see
that the per capita consumption declined more than
one-half.

Is not this a marvellous showinj^? If not, it is at
least an exhibition which no country in the world with
a different method of control can present. The ques-
tion of absolute CjUantity of spirits drunk per individual
is not relevant. It is improvement in drinking habits
which must be considered. In 1874, with but one
leading company in possession of a monopoly of retail
and bar-trade within its circumscription (except five
privileged licenses which have not yet been given),
Sweden occupied the second place as regards per
capita consumption of spirits amongst the twelve most
civilized countries in the world. To-day her place is
about half-way down the list. That this result has
been reached against the formidable hindrances of
national customs and of climate affords powerful testi-
mony in favor of the system. Credit cannot h ' -^i^iven
to Governmental control of manufacture, becjiuse pri-
vate distilling was abolished nearly twenty years earlier,
/. e. in 1855. Let it be remembered, too, that only
60 per cent, of the entire sales of spirits in Sweden
(companies have no monopoly of wholesale trade) is
controlled by the companies.

Norway makes a still better showing. National
drinking customs were not so fixed as in Sweden, but
the influences of climate are the same. The low limit
of monopoly, extending only to \o\ gallons at one
purchase, has been a very serious handicap. Never-
theless, from 1876, when the companies began really

• (•

llli: SC.WDINVWIAN SVSTI'M.

to take root, to 1892, when they sold slightly more
than lialfof all the spirits dispensed, per capita con-
sumption diminished from 7 to 3,^ quarts, or, as if
emulatitifj the record of the sister kingdom, more than
one-half. The followinj^ table ^ivcs tlie average con-
sumption per individual, and the percentage of com-
panies' sales each year.

Totftlcon-

I'nr cont.of caloH

Total con-

I'er cent, of salon

Tears.

suiiiiitlon per

by <'(i!iipiinlcs of

Voars.

P)im|>tl(>ii per

by C()ni|iaiili'8 of

laliuliltuut.

toliil suit's.

Inliiibiliint.

total salcH.

(juiirts.

liuiirtH.

1876

7.0

8.3

1885

3.7

31.9

1877

C.3

14.8

■1886

8.2

41.3

1878

4.7

22.3

'1887

3.0

43.4

1879

3.4

24.5

1888

3.1:

40.1

1880

4.1

21.1

;1889

8.4

41.8

1881

3.2

30.1

.890

8.8

49.1

1882

4.0

25.3

il891

8.8

42.9

1883

8.5

34.1

'l892

8.3

51.3

1884

3.7

34.2

Concurrently with the growth of the company system
there has been a notable diminution in the per capita
consumption of spirits. When the companies made
one-twelfth of all the sales, the average individual
drank 7 quarts, reckoned at 50 per cent, of alcohol,
per annum. When they did one-half of the business
the same individual consumed but 3.^ quarts. Is there
not here, again, strong ground for asserting that the
Norwegian method of control has caused a notable
decline in consumption?

The decrease has not been steady from year to year.
Variations have taken place, notably between 1879 and
1880, between 1881 and 18S2, and again in more recent
years. Almost uniformly, a rise in per capita con-
sumption has betn accompanied by a relative decrease
of business done during that year by the companies.

THE LIOUOR TRAFFIC.

Whatever was the cause, the advance, therefore, could
not have been due to any laxity on their part or to
any greater drinking by their patrons. Let us note
that in 1880 the companies sold but 21. i per cent, of
the total quantity, whereas in 1879 they dispensed
24.5 per cent. In the meantime consumption advanced
from 3.4 to 4.1 quarts per inhabitant. Again, in 1881
they monopolized 30.1 per cent, of the total trade.
'Wi^ per capita consumption was then 3.2 quarts; but
in 1882, when the business declined to 25.3 per cent.,
consumption rose to four quarts. In 1887, when per
capita consumption was the lowest, the companies*
proportion of total sales reached almost the highest
point it has yet attained. With that proportion abso-
lutely the highest, as in 1892, individual consumption
is infinitesimally near low-water mark. To-day spirit-
drinking in relation to population is less current in
Norway than in almost any other civilized country.

Divorcing money-making from the saloon and
retail spirit business — in other words, the Scandi-
navian company plan — furnishes incontestably the
reason why nations like Sweden and Norway, even
though heavily handicapped by climate and hard-
drinking customs, are nevertheless able to show a
remarkable decrease in consumption, while other
countries which allow private profits to be made are
being slowly submerged by the alcoholic tide. Mr.
John Graham Brooks, one of the Massachusetts Legis-
lative Commission, has strikingly illustrated this fact
in a diagram which will repay careful study. The
figures cover practically the same period, except in
the case of Austria, so that prevailing economic con-
ditions — that powerful disturbing factor — may be
adjudged fairly similar.

■* rr, C5

H
to

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O

H
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Shi

I-

I—
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I-

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o

CO
CO

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2S e-

»n

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

,1 '

Are these coincidences purely accidental ? He would
be a bold man who would answer affirmatively.

Prohibitionist exponents of temperance have some-
times been misled into asserting that improved con-
ditions in Norway and Sweden are most largely to be
credited to the growth of total abstinence. The teeto-
tallers are reliably estimated to number about 300,000
to 350,000 in the two countries. They constitute
about 4 to 5 per cent, of the total population. If the
marvellous decrease in consumption is due to them,
there is no denying the fact that they must have been
very hard drinkers previous to conversion. A suppo-
sition of this sort only serves to show the absurdity of
the plea, especially when coupled with the fact that
half of their number are women and children.

Total abstinence societies are growing in member-
ship and are exercising a certain amount of influence.
That they are not more powerful is due to the fact
that few -amongst the really influential members of
society are adherents.

If decreased per capita consumption were due to
the efforts of total abstainers, the results ought to be
most evident during later times, because it is in recent
years that they have grown in number and prestige.
We have, on the contrary, a slight increase of liquor-
drinking since 1887. It is so small as not to be worth
noticing except to dispose of the claim before us. The
phenomenon is undoubtedly due to improved econ-
omic conditions, as the statistics of small deposits in
savings banks show that the masses of the people are
in a better position to indulge themselves now than
formerly. The company system, in encouraging local
option, in reducing temptation, in stamping drinking
as a dangerous practice, and in struggling valiantly to

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

reduce consumption to the lowest limits, ought rather
to be considered as a factor in the extension of total
abstinence. This is more just than to give an undue
measure of credit for the good results accomplished to
the propaganda and practice of a comparatively small
number of extreme temperance reformers. One might
quite as consistently argue that teetotal societies have
accomplished nothing in the United States because
liquor-drinking has advanced contemporaneously with
their increase in membership and activity. Let us
cheerfully accord to this body in Scandinavia a due
meed of praise, especially where, as in some notable
instances, they have worked harmoniously with officials
of the local companies to reduce drinking; but let
us not credit them with feats they have not accom-
plished, and in the very nature of things could not
accomplish.

If it is teetotalism which is chiefly reducing the con-
sumption of spirits, why is it that the same effect is not
seen in connection with beer? Drinking malt bever-
ages in Sweden and Norway has increased, notwith-
standing that they are relatively dearer than spirits.
An historical background, now happily passing,
reveals a mistaken sentiment which urged beer-drink-
ing as a temperance measure. The consequence is
that beer, with some exceptions in Norway, is not yet
included in the companies' monopoly, its sale is envir-
oned with no restrictions worthy of mention, and it
has become the responsible factor in preventing a
large decrease in drunkenness.

Economic conditions have not brought about
decreased per capita consumption. They play a part
in yearly fluctuations, but, as we have already seen,
savings bank returns show that people could now

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

l! '

drink more than formerly if they would. The growth
of beer-drinking, a much more expensive habit in
Scandinavia, argues towards the same conclusion.

To the company system belongs the almost exclu-
sive credit for reduced per capita consumption. Elimi-
nation of money-making, decrease in places of sale,
and almost every reasonable method of regulation that
could be adopted, speak for themselves. Many lead-
ing firms of distillers and rectifiers of spirits in Sweden
" openly state that there has been a constant and
marked falling off of consumption of domestic spirits,
unaccompanied by a corresponding increase of impor-
tations, and attribute it exclusively to the wide adop-
tion of the company system." Foreign diplomatic
and consular representatives and local police and
administrative officers testify with practical unanimity,
and from a neutral standpoint, to the all-prevailing
influence of the company plan for good. Religious
sentiment, growth of education, and the develop-
ment of abstinence, fill a place which in another gener-
ation will be larger still. The company system Las
cleared the ground and prepared the soil for them to
take firmer root.

Most methods of controlling the liquor traffic yet
devised break down when applied to large cities. Will
the Scandinavian plan stand this supreme test ? Let
us see. Below are the statistics of sales by the Goth-
enburg company from 1874 to 1892 :

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THE IJOUOR TRAFFIC.

Durine? the period, the total sales of spirits declined
more than one-half — 29 quarts per inhabitant, to 14.3.
There is a salutary diminution in all branches of the
trade — bar, retail, and higher-grade spirits. Drinking
in public-houses shows the lar^^est relative decrease.

It has been objected that these figures do not give
the total actual consumption of spirits in Gothenburg.
That is true. There are five privileged license-hold-
ers in the city, and statistical returns for them are
needed. Mr. Koren, who was recently in Sweden in
the interest of the Massachusetts Legislative Commis-
sion, has prepared a table which is here incorporated
with a few remarks.

"As the table given below," says he, "differs some-
what from those given in other publications, it is well
to state how it has been made up. In order to present
as accurate figures of the per capita consumption as
possible, it is necessary to add to the population that
of four suburbs — forming, in fact, part of the city,
though formerly belonging to the country parishes —
in which no sale of spirits whatever takes place. The
very large floating population {^Gothenburg is the chief
port 0/ Swede7i, as well as the base of supply for large
country districts') has not been considered. Secondly,
to the quantity of liquor sold by the company has
been added that disposed of by the licensees having
' burgess' rights,* calculated according to the excise
paid by them ; also the quantity sold by the twenty-
three wine merchants, according to the license fees
exacted from them by the company. But as these
dealers estimate that at least one-half of their goods
are ship':>ed to points outside of the city, only
one-half enters into our figures. From this quantity,
however, has been deducted the quarts of higher-
grade spirits sold by the company, which are always

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

purchased from the wine merchants. In order not to
make the estimate too low, the quantity of higher-
grade liquor bought by the privileged licensees ironi
the same dealers has not been entered. The results
thus obtained are as follows":

Consumption of LuiUOR in Gotiiknburg, 1875-1892.

1
a.

•a n-o a

mate
latioi
•then
I sub

1875

64,978

1876

06,847

1877

69,083

1878

71,749

1879

73,256

1880

75,264

1881

78,695

1882

80,117

1883

85,615

1884

89,173

1885

93,212

1886

97,392

1887

100,958

1888

104,332

1889

108,039

1890

112,264

1891

115,377

1892

117,918

Sold by

K
C

2 O CO

•r. "

Quarts. [ Quarts.
1,740,110.8 28,209.8
1,844,739.1 28,209.h

1.801.056.7 30,422.0
1,721,830.6 30,422.0
1,547,276.5 34,570.6

1.401.892.5 34,570.0
1,447,927.7(34,570.6
l,358,094.2i35,953.4
1,484,126 3 35,953.4

1.553.262.6 40,102.0

1.611.915.3 40,102.0

1.655.502.1 42,268.0

1.633.007.4 40,683.0

1.670.564.8 44,909.8

1.657.070.2 14,381.4
1,714,668.8 67,628.8
1,633,688.6J50,827.3
1,523,251. 2153,891. 7

■A

.2 «J

S'5

O «H

Quarts.
323,582.7
323,582.7
282,097.7
323,582.7
298,691.7
241,304.2
241,995.6
253,063.4
280,714.5
288,011.7
284,863.0
271,035.1
219,793.6
219,793.6
215,038.5
215,038.5
214,510.1
214,510.1

Quarts. Qts.

2,269,490.1 34.9

2,380,431.6 35.6

2,269,119 6 32.8

2,288,132.8; 31.8

2,077,288.5 28.3

1.878.607.4 24.9

1.863.033.5 23.6

1.802.288.1 22.4

1.692.908.2 19.7
1,774,567.9 19.9
1,834,640.41 19.6

1.869.339.3 19.1

1.790.987.6 17.7

1.833.228.4 17.5
1,8(0,532.4 16.6
1,872,216.3 16.6
1,764,915.0 15.2
1,675,874,3 14.2

The facts in this table are even more favorable to
the company than the preceding one. The decrease
in spirits drunk in Gothenburg was considerably more
than one-half from 1875 to 1892. But no tabular state-
rnent can do exact justice to bo7ia fide inhabitants.
The average citizen, in 1892, did not drink 14.2 quarts
of spirits. This is easily demonstrable inferentially,
though not measureable statistically. Gothenburg is
a large seaport, and a prominent centre of trade and
distribution. There is always a large transient popu-

TIIK LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

lation, the sailor and fisherman elements of which are
hard drinkers. As a seaport town, provisioning of
steam, sail, and fishing vessels is largely carried on,
and this for our present discussion is a very important
matter. Dr. Sigfrid Wieselgren, than whom there is
no higher authority in Sweden, illustrates the position
of Gothenburg by another striking instance :

" In the province of Westmanland there are four
little towns, of which the two larger are Westeras, with
a population of a little more than 8000, and Sala, with
about 6000 inhabitants. In both these towns there are
'brandy companies,' which, during the year 1891-92,
sold respectively 350,763 and 326,130 litres — i. e.
about 43 litres per head of the population in Westeras,
and about 54 litres per head in Sala. Now, are we to
believe that there is such an enormous consumption of
spirits in these two towns ? By no means. The great
sale of these companies is very easily accounted for by
the fact that in the whole province there is only one
license for the sale of spirits in the country. The sale
of spirits in the above mentioned towns thus repre-
sents the greater part of the consumption of spirits in
the whole province. And the consumption per head
of the population in the whole province is found to be
7.24 litres.

" Now, if the method of identifying the sale of spirits
in a certain place with the consumption of spirits in the
same place is unreasonable with regard to Westeras
and Sala, it is quite as unreasonable with regard to
Gothenburg. According to the same calculation as in
the former case, the consumption of spirits in the prov-
ince of Gothenburg was for the year in question 8.50
litres per head."

The statistics of sales by con'nanies in any town are
not a fair measure of individual consumption amongst

THE SC.A.NDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

citizens. The more important the city is as a trade
centre, and the wider the area of no-hcense country
districts to which it is tributary, the greater must be
the allowance made. Even the small towns suffer in
proportion. The advance of prohibition, or practical
no-license in the country districts, has cast on them a
burden, so far as published statistics of drink con-
sumption is concerned, which they are not entitled to
bear. Non-understanding of this fact has led to foolish
statements comparing, for example, the consumption
of spirits in Gothenburg with other places outside the
country. Bona fide residents in Gothenburg and
Stockholm, in Bergen and Christiania, in reality drink
little, if any, more than their compatriots, though sta-
tistically, from force of circumstances, they are made
to appear less temperate.

Below are statistics of sales of the Stockholm com-
pany, both as regards absolute quantities and number
of quarts per inhabitant, since its organization.

Quantity of Liquor Sold tkr Inhabitant from
October 1, 1877, to September 30, 1892.

Inhabi-
tants.

Quarts of
liquor sold.

Quarts per Inhabitant.

Years.

At bar-
trade
places.

At retail
places.

Total.

1877-78..

1878-79..

1879-80. .

1880-81 . .

1881-82..

1882-83

1883-84..

1884-85..

1885-86 . .

1886-87..

1887-88.

1888-89..

1889-90..

1890-91 . .

1891-92..

153,528
161,722
163,040
167,868
174,702
182,358
190,842
200,781
211,139
216,807
221,549
228,118
236,350
245,317
248,051

4,308,789.60
4,082,591.47
4,104,705.20
4,145,625.09
4,072,594.04
3,913,585.51
3,710,518.19
3,947,429.19
3,788,060.87
3,775,410.36
3,645,743.65
3,574,102.90
3,722,899.61
3,643,581.12
3,573,512.13

14.61

13.88

13.47

13.82

13.10

9.82

9.01

9.04

8.02

7.79

7.51

6.99

6.86

6.68

6.49

13.46

11.36

11.71

10.88

10.21

11.64

10.43

10.62

9.92

9.62

8.94

8.68

8.88

8.18

7.91

28.07
25.24
25.18
24.70
23.31
21.46
19.44
19.66
17.94
17.41
16.45
15.67
15.74
14.86
14.40

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

The l)eneficial effects of the company's operations
are set forth in the following statement from the annual
report of the brandy company. Possessing 170 licenses
to sell over the bar, in the year 1892, it made use of
but 63 on its own account for the sale of native spirits,
transferring 80 to other parties, to be utilized in traffic
in higher-grade liquors. Twenty-seven it did not
utilize at all. As regards retail licenses, possessing 90,
it made use of 27, transferred 51, and made no use
of 12.

The sale of liquor over the bar in 1877, when the
company first came into existence, was 14.61 quarts per
inhabitant. Successive years mark an almost uniform
decline, until in the last fiscal year low-water mark
was reached at 6.49 quarts per capita. In the same
way, the retail sales have declined from 13.46 quarts
per inhabitant in 1877 to 7.91 quarts at the time when
the last annual report was prepared. Taking these
two together, we find that the total consumption per
inhabitant, which in 1877 was 28.07 quarts, now
amounts to but a little more than half this amount,
namely, 14.40 quarts.

The preceding table does not include the sales made
by the sub-licensees. The fees paid by the latter vary
somewhat in proportion to the business done. As the
amounts received annually by the company for its con-
cessions show a decrease rather than an increase, it
seems reasonable to suppose that there has been no
increase in the amount of liquor consumed on the
premises of sub-licensees.

Borrowing the table from the report of the Massa-
chusetts Legislative Commission, which has been made
up on a similar basis to the one already quoted for
Gothenburg, slightly different figures are reached.

IME SCANDINAVIAN SVSTKM.

The lesson is the same. There has been a marked
redaction in individual consumption of spirits. The
table covers only the ten-year period from 1882 to
1892.

Consumption op Liquor in Stockholm, 1882-1892.

YearH.

Estimated
popula-
tion of
Stock-
holm and
surroiiiid-

iriK dis-
tricts.

1882-83

240.725

1883-84

250,149

1884-85
1885-86
1886-87

261,089
271,928
279.583

1887-88

284,764

1888-89
1889-90

393,070
3011.860

1890-91

804.094 \

1891-92

308,528

Sold by
Company.

Quarts.
8,913,585.51
3.710.518 19
3,947,429.19
8,788,666.87
3,775,410.30
3,045,743.65
3,574.102.90
3,722,899.61
3,043,581.12
3.573,512.13

Estimated
Sales ol'
I'rivato
Dealers.

Total.

Quarts. |
1.690,720
1,090,720|
1.690,720
1,690,72'!
1,690,720
1,690,720
1,637,885
1,690,720
1,585,050'
1,585,050

Quarts.
5,604,305.51
5,401,238.19
5,638,149.19
5,479,386.87
5.466,130.36
5,336.463.65
5,211.987.90
5,413.619.01
5,228,631.12
5,158,562.13

Con-
surap-

tiou

per
InhaH
itant.

23.28
21.59
21.59
20.15
19.55
18.73
17.84
17.99
17.19
16.71

These figures are far from just to the citizens of
Stockholm. Only the inhabitants of the eight sur-
rounding parishes have been added to those of the
city proper. No account whatever has been taken of
the floating population.

The history of the formation of the Stockholm com-
pany possesses some interest because of the successful
application of the principle of compensation, a matter
not under purview in America, but which from the
traditional and hereditary tendencies of England, must
needs be considered there.

About the time that the Gothenburg company cotn-
menced its operations, the authorities at Stockholm,
moved by the increase of drunkenness in their midst,
commenced to consi acr the question of liow far the

'rill'. F.I(jL(»R I K AI'I'IC.

company system mij^ht be applied with them. Wlien
the municipal council first looked into the matter they
found that 367 {)ermanent licenses existed; of tliis
number 135 were privileged, and most of them were
founded upon " burg^ess rij^hts." None of the latter
class could be taken away without the consent or the
death of the possessor, and, in the case of those hold-
ing^ upon " burgess rij^hts," until the decease of the
wife of the one possessing* the privilege. A commis-
sion was appointed to consider the legahty of the basis
on which a part of the permanent licenses reposed.
They reported in favor of a plan allowing life-pensions
of not more than $134 annually to holders of licenses
by *' burgess rights" who would surrender the privilege.
Later a somewhat smaller sum, $120.60, was offered as
an annuity to the holders of other permanent licenses.
As might have been expected, this offer did not meet
with much success, for the reason that the suggested
compensation was inadequate. Furthermore, no
account was taken of the value of separate businesses.
All who possessed "burgess rights" did not naturally
derive the same income, while as regards permanent
licenses some would certainly be more favorably situ-
ated than others. It is, therefore, not astonishing to find
that in 1875 there still remained 146 permanent licenses,
of which 77 were founded on ** burgess rights," which
had not been surrendered for the annuities proposed.
These, of course, were the most valuable franchises,
and probably would never be surrendered unless some
greater advantage were offered. Another method was
now tried. Instead of waiting for the licensees to take
the initiative, the commission set to work to make pri-
vate arrangements with each individual holder, and
with such success that in a fortnight's time they were

I" I IK SCANDINAVIAN S VST KM.

able to amioiincf that they held in their hands the
ay^recments of 133 licensees to renounce their privi-
leges in consideration ol life annuities — which, in the
case of " burgess rights," was to be extended to the
wife — varying (rotii ;^i34 to $536. The total sum thus
given for the possession of these 133 licenses consti-
tuted an annual charge upon the municipal treasury at
the outset of $33,258.80. So quietly had the matter
been arranged that no opportunity was given for com-
bination in order to increase the price. The remain-
ing thirteen who still held out were, therelore, speedily
brought to terms on most advantageous conditions to
the city.

When the company began operations in October,
1877, with a complete monopoly of all licenses for the
conduct of the retail and l}ar sale of spirituous liquors
in the city, it seemed to be handicapped with the large
annual charge upon it for compensation to the expro-
priated license-holders. In fact, many wiseacres at the
time predicted financial disaster, but the results of the
first year, after paying all expenses and 6 per cent,
dividend to the stockholders, showed sufficient surplus
to provide for the compensation fund for a considerable
period in advance. The annual charge on this account
has diminished from year to year, as the old license-
holdeis have died off, till eight only survive at the
present day.

Christiania, the capital of Norway, and a city now
numbering about 170,000 people, possesses a brandy
company which was organized in July, 1885.

Previous to this there were seventy-two saloon
licenses in operation, the holders of which also sold
liquor to a considerable extent in bottles. Part of these
privileges were held for life, and could only be taken

'J'HK LIOIOK I'K.M-FIC.

under the expropriation proceedings authorized by the
law of 1880, which gave a life annuity to the previous
possessor equal to the average annual profit on his busi-
ness durini> the three preceding years. The bar-trade
licenses now held by the company number twenty-
seven, and the annual charge on account of compen-
;ration to holders of life licenses amounted at the com-
mencement to $5,896. It has since been reduced to
$3,484, owing to the death of several to whom indem-
nities had been adjudged. The company to-day pos-
sesses the largest part of the bar trade of the city. It
uses fifteen licenses on its own account, and concedes
twelve to private hotels and restaurants, whose owners
have been approved as managers in the service of the
company.

Twenty-nine merchants in Christiania, the majority
of whom are grocers, hold licenses for retail and whole-
sale trade independentl' of the company. At first it
was a question of expropriating these also, in order
that the company might become the sole retail licensee,
but after mature consideration it was decided to leave
things as they were, since it was feared that too great
a financial burden might ensue. The majority of the
holders of these licenses are now old men, and, in the
natural course of aff-^irs, at their death their privileges
will pass to the possession of the company without
payment.

The existence of these licenses is a serious draw-
back, as are also the special bar-privileges enjoyed by
a theatre, an hotel, and two clubs. As a matter of
fact, the company dispenses barely 40 per cent, of the
spirits sold in bottles and over the bar. Consequently,
it is not remarkable that the following table giving per
capita consumption of the company's wares does not

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

show a decline. There is, indeed, a slight advance.
Whether or not more spirits are actually consumed in
proportion to population now than formerly, cannot be
estimated, as the figures of sale by the twenty-nine
merchants, the clubs, the theatre, and the hotel for pre-
ceding years are not available. Such a supposition is
not at all probable. If true, it would constitute an
exception to experience elsewhere. The lesson to be
drawn from the table is the importance of entrusting
the company with a complete monopoly.

Sales from

1886 TO 1891.

Quarts of spirits sold.

Con-

-■ - ■ -

sump-

Year.

tion per

At bar-trade

At i-etail

Total.

inhabi-

places.

tant.

Quarts.

1886 .. ..

169,848

129.033

298,881

2.2

1887 . . . .

150.123

159.448

309.571

2.3

1888 . . . .

165.466

184.054

349,520

2 5

1889 . . . .

187.274

210,691

397,965

2.8

1890 . . . .

192,380

207,785

400,165

2.6

1891 .. ..

216.589

202,254 418.843

2.8

1892 . . . .

215,796

232,050

448,048

2.7

The increase has been chiefly in the bottle trade, and
upon this the growth of Christiania as a seaport and
commercial centre has undoubtedly exercised an
influence.

We come next to Bergen, the second city in Nor-
way and its chief seaport.

Statistics of the company's total sales are to be seen
in the following table. In 1877, the year when opera-
tions were commenced, the total sales of spirituous
liquors amounted to 282, 1 28 quarts ; in 1892, to 351,695
quarts. In the meantime, however, the population had
augmented one-third, so that, notwithstanding the

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

absolute increase, the conirair.pllon per inhaVjitant
declined from 7 quarts in 1877 to 6.12 quarts in 1892.
The decline is most noticeable in dram-drmking.
Whereas in 1877 the average annual consumption
under this head was 2.5 <\\i2,\\.^ pey capita^ in 1892 it
was 1.7 quarts.

Sales of Brandy in Bergen, 1877 to 1892.

-d d

Number of Quarts.

S2-

cc'-dS

V- c ,/

^.2

U 5S

2 o'-o-S

2 rH

4-i 3 g s

OJ 3 tH

3 OS

1877..

40,760

103,566

166,810

11,752

5:2,128

7.0

1878..

41,5l:>

90,962

140,689

7,933

239,584

5.8

1879..

42,280

73,812

134,291

8,389

216,492

5.1

1880..

43,062

68,508

136,010

8,123

212,641

4.9

1881..

43,858

73,574

147,603

8,526

229,703

5.2

1882..

44,669

77,509

156.654

7,025

241,248

5.4

1883..

45,493

78,744

160;i26

7,064

245,934

5.4

1884..

46,332

81,853

165,761

7,083

254,697

5.5

1885..

47,995

83,719

159,820

6,091

249,630

5.2

1886..

48,335

85,629

154,500

11,893

252,022

5.2

1887..

49,623

86,924

146,220

21,446

254,590

5.1

1888..

50,902

84,569

139,961

26,351

250,881

5.0

1889..

52,252

86,2,^6

153,052

28,421

267,759

5.1

1890..

53,686

88,844

177,652

30,894

297,390

5.5

1891..

55,112

97,101

195,108

39,133

.^31,342

6.0

1892..

56,513

101,406

204,825

45,464

351,695

6.2

Since 1888 the sales per inhabitant have increased.
One cannot necessarily say that local consumption has
risen, in view of the enormously increased tourist traffic
to Norway in recent years, of which Bergen is the
chief point of debarkment, the visits of the British and
German fleets, and the enhanced wholesale business
of the company. From 1887 to 1892 wholesale sales
increased 112 per cent., and no part of them can be

1 i

Till-: SCANDINAVIAN' SYSTEM.

credited to local consumption. There was likewise an
advance of 40 per cent, during the same years in the
bottle trade, a very large part of which was not at all
due to local consumption, but to the tourist traffic.
From 1887 to 1892 sales over the bar increased only
14 per cent., or in exactly the same proportion as the
advance in population; this, too, notwithstanding the
presence of at least 2500 additional foreign seamen.

Mr. Koren has prepared the following table, in vv hich
he has deducted one-quarter of the sales annually as
extra-local, i. e. outside consumption. This estimate,
in my opinion, errs on the side of conservatism, as
applied to present conditions. But even if my view be
incorrect, the proportion to-day is certainly much
greater than it was during the first few years of the
company's existence. There has really been a greater
decline than the table makes evident.
Consumption op LiqijOk in Bergen from 1877 to 1893.

Estimated
Population.

Sold in bottles

at retail

stores.

Sold at chief

warehouse

at retail.

Total, deduct
in^ one-
fourth.

« C+J

a; j- «
— *^ a'r
S £ 5 S

Quarts.

Total average
consumption
per inhabi-
tant.

Quarts.

QviartS-

Quarts.

1877

40.760

103,566

166,810

11,752

211,596

2.58

5.19

1878

41, 'MS

90.963

140.689

7,938

179.691

2.33

4.32

1879

43.880

73,812

134.391

8,389

162.369

1.79

3.84

1880

43.063

68,508

136,010

8,128

159,480.7

1.61

3.7

1881

48,858

73,574

147.603

8,526

172,277.8

1.70

3.93

1883

44,669

77.569

156.654

7,025 180,986

1.74

4.05

1883

45.493

78,744

160,136

7,004 184,450.5

1.73

4.05

1884

46,333

81,858

165,761

7.083 191,022.7

1.76

4.13

1885

47,995

83.719

159.830

6.091 187.222.5

1.79

3.90

1886

48,335

85.629

154.300

11,893 189.010.5

1.76

3.91

1887

49,633

86,924

146.220

21.146

190.717.5

1.74

3.84

1888

50.903

84,569

139.961

26.851 188.160.7

1.65

3.69

1889

58,353

86,286

153.052

28.421 200,819.2

1.64 8.84

1890

53,686

88.844

177.653

80.894 228,042.5

1.64 4.15

1891

55,113

97.100

195.109

89.133 248,506 5

1.75 ' 4.50

1893

56.513

101,406

204,825 45,464

268.772.4

1.79 4.60

THE LIOUOR TRAFFIC.

The late Mr. Thomas M. Wilson, of Bergen, gave
in the Labour Prophetiox September, TS93, ^n interest-
ing account of the operation of the company system in
Christianssand, which is here reproduced. He says:

" The first Norwegian controlling society was estab-
lished in the town of Christianssand, and commenced
to operate on January ist, 1872. The population of
the town was 11,600, and the population of the rural
district, which drew its supply of spirits from the town,
was approximately 53,000. Both populations may be
described as having been very intemperate. Only the
urban population, of course, became directly subject
to the society's control, while the rural population
continued to have spirits in wholesale quantities des-
patched into the country for home consumption as
before, the society being unable to exercise control on
that wholesale trade. In 1872 the entire wholesale
consumption of spirits supplied by private wholesale
traders was 78,897 litres, and by the society 10,263
litres: together, 89,160 litres. The total consumption
of spirits in Christianssand and the rural district, whole-
sale and retail, was, in 1872, 224,627 litres, while the
corresponding consumption had fallen in 1892 to
133,806 litres, that is equal to a reduction of more
than 40 per cent. In 1892 the consumption was unduly
increased, in consequence of a very large influx of the
roughest class of laborers, that followed upon the com-
mencement of the construction of a railway and a con-
flagration that destroyed half the town. If we com-
pare the consumption of 1891 with that of 1872, and
that is, under the circumstances, the truest guide, we
find that the consumption in 1891 was 115,890 litres,
or a reduction of a little more than 48 per cent.

"The society's share capital is $11,110, but only
half has been called up. The working capital is

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

therefore only $5,555, and was held in 1892 by 68
shareholders. The net profit on the capital employed
was, in the first year's operations, $13,410, or close
upon 342 per cent.

"The number of municipal spirit licenses was fixed
at eight. The society acquired the monopoly of them,
but only exercised five, and have since reduced the
number to four. It now has three ordinary spirit bars,
and one shop for sale in bottles and wholesale
quantities.

" The reduction in consumption that followed on the
introduction of control was immediately accompanied
by beneficent results in relation to crime, poor relief,
savings banks, increased consumption of current
domestic necessaries, etc., which all indicated great
advantages derived from control. Fcr instance, the
annual average of criminal cases for the five preceding
years was 71, and it fell at once to 47. The annual
average of police offenses connected with drunkenness
was, in the five preceding years, 97, and it at once fell
to 56. Cases of picking the pockets of intoxicated
persons, previously a common ofiense, entirely ceased.

" At first the society kept its premises open for the
full number of hours permitted by the licensing law —
viz., from 8 A. M. till 10 P.M., that is, 14 hours. Now
it only keeps them open for 9J hours — viz., 9 A. M.
till noon, and 1.30 till 8 P. M. — the retail shop being
closed at 7.30 P. M.

"The Christianssand Society's bar sales, which in
1872 were 41,376 litres, had fallen in 1876 to 32,387
litres, although the total sales, which in 1872 were
224,627 litres, had risen in 1876 to 269,046 litres. The
times had in that quinquennial period been very flour-
ishing, especially in the rural districts. There was

5«

THE LIOUOK TRAFFIC.

abundance of employment at previously unknown high
wages ; yet it is a striking and satisfactory circumstance
to note that, in spite of the increased total consump-
tion, the bar sales were greatly reduced, as it is the bar
sales that afford the truest guide to the effects of
control.

"In the 21 years the society has operated it has
earned net profits to the amount of $273,620.68, which
have all gone, or will yet go, to support objects of public
benefit and utility which are not statutory burdens on
the local taxpayers. To show the nature of the objects
of ' public benefit and utility,' I will name a few :
Workmen's Union Evening School ; School of Cook-
ery ; Board and Lodging for Diligent Board School
Children during their Holidays in the Country ; Chris-
tianssand School of Industry ; Christianssand Tech-
nical School ; Boys' Industrial School ; Workmen's
Union Library; Cathedral S'^hool Library and
Museum; Board Schools Pupils' Library; Town's
Library; numerous Abstinence Societies, Good Tem-
plar Lodges, and Blue Ribbonmen Societies ; Sick
Nurses' Institution; Magdalene Refuge; Discharged
Female Prisoners' Homes ; Prisoners' Aid Society ;
Public Sea Baths for Men ; Public Sea Baths for
V/omen; Quay Laborers' Waiting Rooms; Work-
men's Union Sick Fund ; Industrial Society for Needy
Women ; Workmen's Union Asylum ; numerous Asy-
lums for Children, and a host of other similar benefi-
cial objects too numerous to detail here.

" The burgomaster and the superintendent of police,
and the British and American consuls in Christians-
sand, have been good enough to favor me quite recently
with their opinions in writing of what the local con-
trolling society has effected, and they unanimously
report that the operations of the society have unques-

THE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

tionably been of immense benefit in the promotion of
temperance and sobriety in the locality.

" Personally, I have known this town well for 34
years, and my experience quite coincides with that of
the four gentlemen nafned."

The Massachusetts Legislative Commission has pub-
lished a table giving a resume oi' per capita consump-
tion during the differen': years. It differs somewhat in
the estimate of the number of persons within the area
of the company's operations. Like Mr. Wilson, Mr.
Koren attributes the sharp rise in bar drinking during
1892 mainly to the influx of laborers employed in
rebuilding the town after the disastrous fire.

Consumption of Liquor in Ciiristianssand, 1872-92.

1 ■ ^

a.2'0 u

t- AT

Sold by the Company

1 i^

AS at:

0J5

02 =*

1— 1

at:

Quarts.

Qts.

1872

31,897

42,874 97,498

10,635

81,753

232,760

7.29

1873

32,225

46,103 111,742

12,808

126,040

296,693

9.20

1874

32,405

41,314 127,187

6,075

152,110

326,686

10.08

1875

32,737

38,294 137.284

11,575

123,746

310,879

9.49

1876

32,998

33,560 128,871

6,768

109,589

278,789

8.44

1877

33,316

37,965

125,977

2,763

116,502

283,207

8.50

1878

33,501

40,849

109,046

2,227

45,452

197,424

5.89

1879

33,630

37,072

88,694

2,212

49,664

177,642

5.28

1880

33,894

38,354

86,168

1,020

38,064

163,609

4.82

1881

34,164

35,099

94,143

1,689

26,090

157,621

4.61

1882

34,471 21,826.1

100,167.8

2,870 2

36,877.8

161,241.9

4.67

1883

31,684 16,439

102,413.3

3,107.8

48,859.7

170,819.8

4.92

18S4

34,992 15,415

102,493.6

2,287.8

18,611.7

138,808.2
165,144.3

3.96

1885

35,214

16,578.6

97,859.9

1,192.0

49,513.8

4.68

1886

35,262

14,715.6

96,275.9

578.0

21,869.5

133,439

3.77

1887

35,316

13.134.8

88,157.3

681.6

20,757.8

122,731.5

3.47

1888

35,516

13.202.3

86,323.9

528.4

21,899.1

121,953.7

3.43

1889

35,721

13.626 1

87,317.2

305.6

12,652.9

113,961.8

3.19

1890

35,878

14,866.6

100,580.9

696.4

12.664.5

128,788.4

3.58

1891

36,178

18,220.7

98,049.1

253.6

5,937.6

122,461

3.38

1892

37,000i

23,265.5114,917.1

675.2

2,134.5

140,982.7

3.81

THE LIQUOR TRAF-'FIC.

The number of licenses exploited furnishes in a
measure a criterion of the companies' efforts to reduce
temptation and to restrict consumption. When the
system was inaugurated in 1871 the number of saloon
licenses in existence in Norwegian towns and cities was
501 ; to-day but 227 are utilized. Companies have the
legal right to use nearly the original number, but they
refrain from doing so in the public interest. Expressed
m the form of proportion to inh^bitantj, the reduction
has been from i for 591 to i for 1413 persons. In the
entire country district of Norway but 25 licenses for
the sale of spirits remain — i to about 8000 people.
Half of these are at the fishing stations in tiie north.

Statistics for Sweden are not availtble far enough
back to show the full measure of improvement. In
1880 there were 692 inhabitants to one license to sell
spirits (both retail and bar licenses are included) ; in
1892 there was but one license to every 1073 people.
In the country districts the respective ratios during the
same period were i for 13,450 and i for 22,526 persons.

Following are tables for Gothenburg, Stockholm
and Bergen. They speak for themselves.

!:!

THE SC.'XNDlN.Wl.AN SVSTKM.

GOTHENBURG.

Licenses Used and Popul.vtion Compared, from
October l, 1805, to September 30, 1893.

Retail 1

icenses

Licenses used
for eonsump-

Retail
licenses used

transferred

o wriie nier-

chants'for

tioii (J

n the

the

the sale of

Years.

Popula-
tion of
Gothen-

premises.

company.

higher-Kiade
spirits.

burg.

_ __.__

0,000

ibi-

ts.

■

0.000
lin-
ts.

•

0,000
I bi-
ts.

^1 ^ ^

1> c "

.-1 » e

P^-"

!2:

0.-

1 865-06

45,750

5.0

1866-67

47,332

5.9

1867-68

47,898

6.3

...

1868-69

50,438

8.5

—

1869-70

52,526

8.0

__^

1870-71

53,822

8.0

—

1871-72

55,110

7.6

—

1872-73

55,986

7.5

— .

—

.—

: 873-74

56,909

7.2

— _

,»-.

1874-75

58,307

6.0

1.2

2.2

1875-76

59,986

6.0

1.2

2.2

1876-77

61,505

6.2

1.1

2.1

1877-78

63,391

6.0

1.1

2.4

1878-79

65,697

6.1

1.1

2.4

1879-80

66,844

5.8

1.0

2.7

1880-81

68,477

5.8

1.0

2.5

1881-82

71,533

5.6

1.0

2.7

1882-83

72,555

5.5

1.0

3.0

1883-84

77.653

4.9

3.0

1884-85

80.811

4.8

2.8

1885-86

84,450

4.7

2.6

1886-87

88,230

4.5

2.6

1887-88

91.396

4.4

2.5

1888-89

94,370

4.2

2.4

1889-90

97,677

4.1

2.4

1890-91

101,502

3.9

2.3

1891-92

104.215

3.8

2.2

1892-93

106,350

3.8

2.2

TIIK LIQUOR TK.\F!-MC.

Since October i, 1868, the company lias held all the
licenses for consumption on the premises, with the
exception of four houses which have ancient and
special privilege for serving superior liquors princi-
pally, and from October i, 1874. all the retail licenses
have been in the hands of the company.

Licenses in Stockholm, 1880 to 1802.

Bar -trade.

Retail.

Licenses vised

, <i^ 09

, «3

per 1U,()0()

.
c

•

inhabitants.

Year.

d by c
ers for
adesp

Q
CS

i; J; a

Ilai-
trade.

Ketail.

>>
,0

V
00

or be

3
C

<L s b

ct^ be

Company.

-3
U

tt-l
to

a
a

170

3.1

3 8

1 **

1886-87

2.4

1887-88

170

1888-89

170

1889-90

170

,, ,

1890-91

170

„

1891-92

170

2.5

3.2 1.1

2.1

1892-93

170

""—

—

TlIK SLANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

(53

LlCKNSKS IN

Bkkgkn,

1877 TO

1891.

;52.

>.u

rJcicriHi's plT

^j rg, ^

7 ^*-

^1 w

10,000 Inhubltunts.

^^Z.

*:«- c

a-a

Year.

1
5

c a

O «8

t :,. O -

of
VI O

'fi fl

<^2 >

2ii

1— ■^

1877..

40,760

3.5

15.0

1878..

41,512

.^—

„„ ^

1879..

42.280

.— —

...^

1880..

43,062

«a^B

1881..

43.858

— »

,_^

1882..

44,669

—

1883..

45,493

—

1884..

46,332

—

1885..

47 995

1886..

48,335

—

—^

1887..

49,623

—

«.

1888..

50,902

—

1889..

52,252

—

1890..

53.686

1891..

55.112

2.4

10.4

Entrance of the company upon the field of action
has undoubtedly prevented the licenses granted to
private individuals for the sale of wine and beer over
the bar from keeping pace with the advance in popu-
lation.

In Christiania and in Christianssand, under the old
regime, the ratio of saloon licenses to population was
I to i8i6 and i to 1274. In 1892 the respective pro-
portions were i to 5516 and i to 2566. Compare the
figures for these five Scandinavian towns with cities of
the same size in England and America and note the
difference.

THI': I.IOUOK TKAII'IC.

■ i

Only the merest tyro in statistical science would
attempt to J4auj»;e the efficiency A' any method for con-
troll inj^ the liquor traffic by the number of arrests for
drunkenness. Especially will well-informed persons
refrain from making international comparisons. Laws
relating to drunkenness differ materially, and there is
still greater variance of police {)ractice in dealing with
offenders. In Sweden the law requires that a person
showing signs of being fuddled shall be taken U{).
Anglo-Saxon policy is based on the exhibition of utter
helplessness or disorderly conduct. Regulations appor-
tioning a part of the fines to police funds furnish an
artificial incentive, while the progressive popular intol-
erance of inebriety which, accompanies a reforming
regime plays likewise a most important part. Pub-
lished statistics of drunkenness are usually valueless,
because they are rarely differentiated to show how
many times the same person was arrested. Only such
figures can indicate whether the actual number of per-
sons drinking to excess is on the increase, or whether
professional tipplers are simply indulging more freely.
Furthermore, the area to which any system applies
must be studied as a whole, and not individual districts
alone. It is evident that, if there l)e "no-license" in
the country, and " license " in the towns, the former s
more jovial inhabitants will utilize occasional visits to
the cities to drink to excess. Statistically, though not
really, such offenses belong to the places where they
are committed.

Statistics of drunkenness in Nor^vay are not
published for the kingdom as a whole. In Sweden
the number of convictions declined from 6.7 per 1000
inhabitants in 1874 to 4.3 in 1891. The advance
of prohibition in surrounding country districts has

'11 1 1: StANDIN W IAN SVSri-.M.

added to the l)iirden of larji»e cities, l)Ut the prime
cause of increase, where such has taken place, is the
uncontrolled consumption ol beer. All reliable author-
ities a^ree in this estimate, and their opinions are
confirmed by the statistics of beer drinkinj^^ Con-
sumption of malt licjuors, which advanced in Sweden
from 1 6 quarts i)er inhabitant in 1874 to 28.2 quarts in
1890, and in Norway from 16.9 quarts per inhabitant
in 1 87 1 to 31.2 quarts in 1891, cannot have been with-
out potent influence. Is decreased consumption of
spirits, which are sold under strict reticulation, or
increased consumption of beer which is dispensed
without restrictions, in the nature of things more
likely to account for drunkenness ?

It sliould be remembered in this connection, in reply
to the assc'*tion sometimes made that decreased con-
sumption of topirits in Scandinavia is offset by the
increased quantity of fermented drinks consumed, that
the increase of the latter scarcely compares unfavorably
with the same in Germany and France, but that in
those countries under the private pruf.h system the
£07iS7tmptio?i of spirits has 7iearly {in Gernmny^ or
quite (in France') doubled, zvhile in Scandi7iavia under
the Conipany system it has diminished one-half. In
the United States, too, the beer consumption in the
corresponding period has increased vastly more than
in Scandinavia (from 20.2 quarts per capita in 1871 to
64.32 quarts in 1893), with an increase in spirit con-
sumption concurrently.

Returning again to the relation of drunkenness to
the company system, the opinion of those in positions
of admii: strative authority, where good opportunities
exist for correct judgment, is that compared with pre-
vious conditions, the effect of the existing r6gime has

THE I.IOUOR TRAFFIC.

been to brin<y about a notable decline in drunkenness
and a very marked improvement in general sobriety.
The governors of provinces in their last quinquennial
reports submitted answers to inquiries in this direction.
Twenty-one of them responded that drunkenness had
considerably diminished in their respective regions,
one that the situation had remained unchanged, one
that drunkenness had not diminished, and two that it
was difficult to form an opinion. The t stimony of
experience, whether from those favorably or unfavor-
ably inclined to particular features of the Scandinavian
system, is that it has undoubtedly effected an impor-
tant reform in drinking habits, particularly of working
people.

Statistics of pauperism abound with even more
treacherous pitfalls for the unwary. Everywhere
public sense of responsibility towards the unfortunate
has deepened during the last three or four decades.
The logical result is chat this class is not only better cared
for, but more are being helped. To find the pauper
constituency advancing statistically does not necessa-
rily argue deterioration of habit, growing failure of
self-respect, or the application of sentimental methods
in relief. The concentration of population in urban
centres represents in laige degree a flocking together
of the unfit. Here public institutions to care for
those who fail in life's struggle exist in great variety.

Methods of enumerating the poor differ in various
countries and at diiferent periods. As an illustration,
in Sweden during recent years, those receiving gratui-
tous hospital or dispensary treatment figure in the
pauper record. Take another case showing diverg-
ence in systems of registration. In Gothenburg, if the
head of a family is heli)ed by having his rei.t paid

'J HE SCANDINAVIAN SYSTEM.

from the poor rate, the whole family are inscribed as
paupers. Supposing there are eight children and that
both parents are alive, there would be ten recipients of
relief. If rents were paid in this manner monthly,
during eight months the record would show eighty
paupers; if weekly, during the same period about 350.
Figures which indicate that one person in every nine
inhabitants of a thriving commercial city is a pauper
ought to arouse suspicion in any discerning mind.
Yet the totals have been accepted and quoted by
adverse critics in England and the United States as
evidence that somehow or other unparalleled poverty
is closely connected with the company system.

Crime bears a positive relation to drink, but the
terms of this relation cannot be mathematically ex-
pressed. There is always a tendency among the
lapsed, who especially appreciate the value of symp-
athy, to lay all their misfortunes to tippling. This
remark is made without wishing in the least to cast
doubt upon- the belief that drink is a tremendous factor
in criminality.

In concluding this chapter, a word may be offered
on the subject of the surplus revenues arising from the
sale of drink. The Norwegian method of distribution
possesses one strikingly meritorious quality. Owner-
ship of a share of capital stock carries with it the right
to vote for representatives on the committee of man-
agement, to which belongs the function of apportion-
ment of the company's quota. Public interest in the
operation of the company is thus widened. It is not
far from axiomatic truth to say that whenever civic
spirit is aroused, and the attention of that class of the
community which makes philanthropy an avocation is
enlisted, particular objects of scrutiny will behave
circumspectly.

THI': LIOUOR TRVI-FIC.

In the distribution of surplus revenues under the
company system three principal objects should receive
generous recognition. The first of these is education,
not in its general but in its special phases. Part of the
revenues should be appropriated to found kinder-
gartens, manual training schools, and schools of indus-
trial art. Kindergartens are selected because results
testify unimpeachably to the useful moral efifects oi
their training. What other agency can boast of a
record like that of the San Francisco kindergartens?
An investigation, following ten thousand children in
after-life, has disclosed the astounding fact that only
one kindergarten child has been arrested.

Manual training institutions invite support because a
boy whose eyes and hands are early trained to trans-
late ideas into material objects is not likely later to
become a burden to society through inability to earn
a living. His mechanical aptitudes become so much
capital. Industrial art schools have a claim, in order
that scope may be given young women as well as
young men to develop higher industrial capacities.

Kindergarten and manual training have received too
scanty recognition in Anglo-Saxon educational polity.
The one represents the ethical, the other the industrial
element in education. Neglect of home-training dur-
ing the period when the character is chiefly formed,
and that environment of childhood inimical to sound
physical and moral development which obtains in
every large city, emphasize the importance of the one,
as the economic benefits of superior craftship delineate
the advantages of the other.

Saloons minister in two respects to the workingman.
They are labor exchanges and social centres. To
abolish these without providing substitutes would be

THE SCAXDIXAVIAX SYSTEM.

.rank injustice. Therefore it becomes necessary to
apportion a generous share of the profits of liquor
companies for this purpose. To carry out the idea, it
is only necessary to have coffee-houses and rooms for
reading and entertainment, as well as for hire for social
gatherings. Let as many as possible of the recreative
features of a gentleman's club be introduced. The
saloon should be closed promptly at 7 o'clock, so that,
from this time on, the coffee-houses may be the rally-
ing-grounds. Soft drinks, light refreshments, news-
papers, pool and billiards, draughts and chess, smoking
and conversation, should be elements in the entertain-
ment. If possible, the attractiveness of the well-
equipped modern saloon should be outdone. Let
these privileges accompany the purchase of a soft
drink or a portion of refreshment, and the American
free lunch of to-day will never be regretfully recalled.
There ought also to be liberal appropriations for
popular evening concerts. These should be held at
frequent intervals in different parts of a city, so as to
be easily accessible to everybody. The admission fee
should be such as the workingman and his family
could readily support, and the inevitable deficit made
up by subsidies from the liquor fund. Popularization
of music and art is of great civilizing importance.
Its sociological import, too, is of the highest. It
reacts favorably upon family life, and saves male
members from the unfortunate or evil associations
surrounding saloon and cheap music hall entertain-
ments. No class of persons stand in greater need of
recreation than working-people, yet to no other is so
little a\ailable. The conditions of city life need to be
vastly ameliorated in this and other ways before an
appreciable diminution of drinking can be brought
about.

CHAPTER III.

THE COMPANY SYSTEM THE BEST METHOD OF

CONTROL.

It may not be out of place to preface this final
chapter with a brief summary of the advantages and
disadvantages of the Scandinavian system of control.

I. The supreme advantage of the company system
is the elimination of private profit from liquor-selling.
Through this means, what we may regard as at best a
dangerous traffic is taken from the hands of a self-
seeking class of persons, frequently of a low type, and
always, perhaps, endowed with an inrpcrfect sense of
moral responsibility, and given to an organization
representing disinterested public welfare. The busi-
ness is then carried on with a view of reducing con-
sumption to the lowest possible limits. Not infre-
quently, as in the case of the Gothenburg company
under the administration of Dr. Sigfrid Wiesel^ren,
the directing authority is composed of men who abomi-
nate the whole business and take charge only from a
sense of public duty and in order that they may
minimize the evils and ultimately extinguish them.
No company can give better evidence of its philan-
thropic aim than to place its direction in the hands
of a sensible temperance man ; nor ought any high-
minded abstainer to shrink from the task. If liquor
must be sold — and few, even of the most ardent
prohibitionists, will deny that it will continue to be for
some time yet— is it not vastly better to take the traffic

THE CUM [WW SVSTF.M.

from the control of the present lower element of
society, representing^ but moderate intelligence and
inferior moral perception, and hand it over to reputable
men with no economic interest to serve ? Is it not
also better to apply the vast profits of the business
which now go to enrich a dangerous class, to corrupt
politics and to debase social life, to objects of general
public utility and towards lessening the burdens
entailed by strong drink ?

2. A conspicuous merit is the complete divorcing of
the liquor traffic from politics. In these countries the
elimination of the liquor element as a political power
is complete. The shareholders in the companies are,
as a rule, prominent citizens — in Gothenburg, for
example, some of the very best known — and this can
be said of all the larger communities. In none of
them have shares become so concentrated that any-
thing like a particular interest could be created. It is
true that in some of the smaller towns of Sweden
minor abuses have not been effectually guarded
against ; but, under the stricter regulations in Norway,
pernicious methods of administration are unknown.
The employees who deal directly with the practical
details of the companies' business are simply paid
servants, and none of them, so far as can be learned,
hold any position whatever under the city or local
governments or have friends or backers therein.
Charges of ring " politics in connection with liquor
companies may be completely discounted. Especially
in Norway is the divorce absolute and complete.

3. The company monopoly has been so administered
that a general reduction of the number of licenses has
been brought about everywhere. This means lessen-
ing of temptation to drink, llie appropriate facts

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

■ir

have already been adverted to in the previous chapter
and need not be reiterated. Certainly no nation in
the world can show such a low ratio of licenses to
population as can Sweden and Norway.. Side by side
with the reduction of licenses there has been a marked
improvement in the character of the saloons. The
sites chosen have been, as a rule, in public places,
and they are thus open to the most rigid scrutiny. In
Sweden, where sub-licensing is resorted to, the police
authorities uniformly avail themselves of the right
afforded in the contracts made by the companies with
sub-licensees, to imposeconditions which putan effectual
stop to gambling or immoral practices in places uhere
liquor is sold. It is an important advantage that the
companies are directly amenable to public authority
and public opinion for the exercise of their trust.

4. A series of efficient checks is interposed against
breach of trust, supposing that under the company
system there may exist an inclination to commit it. In
the first place, the final decision concerning all matters
in Sweden, for example, rests with the governor, who
is an officer appointed by the crown, and a man of
high character and wide administrative knowledge.
Secondly, the licenses hold good only during the
governor's pleasure. In Norway a faithless corpora-
tion may be brought immediately to task simply by
the threat of extinguishing it. As has been already
shown, this was effectually carried out in the case of
one company which was inclined to place the economic
interests of the municipality above the social interests
of its inhabitants. Thirdly, an efficient co-operation is
established between the company and police officials.
Blackmail and bribery under such circumstances
become an impossibility. Fourthly, the disposition of

TiiE cuMI'A^^■ system.

profits, whether under the Swedish or the Norwegian
plan, is so provided for tliat fair dealing only can ensue.
Fifthly, the general conduct of the business is always
open to public inspection and criticism. The require-
ment that printed reports of the transactions of the
companies in Norway shall be published every year is
a salutary measure. Sixthly, the company monopoly
secures strict enforcement of legal and police regula-
tions in relation to the liquor traffic.

5. The companies have in some measure gone
beyond legal requirements in the line of public interest,
thus emphasizing their desire to contribute to the
public weal. This has been manifest particularly in
raising the age of minority from fifteen, where the law
puts it, to eighteen, as regards selling drink to young
persons, and also in insisting upon immediate cash pay-
ment for liquors sold. They have gradually advanced
the price of drinks, at the same time reducing their
alcoholic contents. vStringent regulations against loit-
ering around the company's shops characterize Nor-
wegian prescriptions.

6. Early closing under the company system has
become a fixed practice. In Norway saloons are
closed on Sundays ai.d at those periods of the day
when the workin^man is most tempted to drink. It
is impossible for him to spend his leisure moments
carousing at bars and thus be almost involuntarily led
to squander hard-earned wages. Nothing whatever is
found in Norwegian saloons which invites to convivi-
ality. Generally there are no seats, and the regula-
tions, which personal observation leads me to say are
strictly enforced, are all designed for the orderly con-
duct of the business, and render drinking to excess a
very difficult mattei. Earlier closing than the law

THK I.IOl'OR TKAFI'IC.

required was voluntarily practised to a large extent
before the passage of the act of 1894, This measure
oblioes discontinuance of the sale of spirits from i
P. M. on days before Sundays and holidays until 8A.M.
of the week-day following. Withdrawal of the temp-
tation to drink on Saturday afternoons — the almost
universal pay-day — will ' e frnr!,/hj with great eco-
nomic beneiit to the '."agetit porMon 0/ the community.
Public authorities may al o ^ *:* v rime limit business
hours still further whenever there ar<. 'nusual gather-
ings of people.

7. Employees being paid fixed salaries, fiiir in
amount, and civil service principles being established
in promotion, there is not the same temptation to push
the sale of drink ; on the contrary, it is made distinctly
an object to act otherwise.

8. All taxes are paid under the company system— a
merit which cannot be predicated of every licensing
regime. The charge has sometimes been made that
the company system has stimulated municipal cupidity.
This is groundless. There is a natural and impassable
limit to cupidity of this sort which, if overpassed, will
bring ruin to any community. Municipal cupidity
would mean stimulation of consumption, but the
statistical data quoted in the last chapter show that ^^r
capita consumption has notably diminished in both
Sweden and Norway under the company regime.
Were the municipalities anxious to make money
directly out of the liquor traffic, the excise tax on the
consumption — which, in Sweden, goes entirely to the
municipal treasury, apart from the profits of the sale
in which the municipality has only a share, and in
Norway went, until 1894, to the poor fund, a municipal
burden — would be more liberally estimated than it is.

'1-111-. COMl'ANV SVSTr.M,

The revocation of the charter of the Lanj^esund com-
pany furni^he-i fuiMiei refutation of this chari;e.

9. A dist'nctive merit of the Norwegian plan is that
indiscri ninate sub-licensint, is unknown. Such privi-
lej^zs are granted only as pubhc interest may require,
and where a'^ effectual control can he exercised against
abuse, in Sweden, where sub-licensing prevails, a
good-sized fee is usually stipulated. In Gothenijurg
about $700 per annum is the average charge exacted
for a sub-license.

10. The assistance rendered financially and iL'r-
wise in promoting the cause of temperance, 'm N -
way a moderate sum is annually expended i^ . ubsi-
dizing temperance societie:>. Under the new 1« v this
will be largely increased. In several localir' vs, partic-
ularly in Norway, cordial co-operation exisu tetween
agencies for the spread of teetotalism and the com-
panies.

11. The attitude of the temperance party is particu-
larly important. Were the companies not succeeding
in their avowed aim and accomplishing successfully
the huge task of restricting the evils of the traffic, total
abstainers would become their most e-irnest opponents.
On the contrary, while they do not desire the system
as a permanency, it is equally true that all of the more
intelligent abstainers regard it as a salutary agency of
progressive reform. There are 30 total abstainers
amongst the 238 members of the Lower House of the
Swedish Parliament. These, with 40 others, have
voted in favor of a prohibitory regime, but they have
never officially clamored for the abolition of the exist-
ing system. The leader of the prohibition party in
the Lower House, and probably the most pronounced
temperance man in Sweden, in a letter to me, made use

llll'. ','<;'.()K 'I'RAI'l'lC.

I 'I

of these significant words : " As to my personal view of
the results of the Gothenburg system, I will merely
add that with all its defects, it is vastly preferable to
free trade in liquors, or to the ordinary licensing sys-
tem." Dr. Wieselgren, President of the Swedish
Temperance Society, is the most doughty champion
of the plan. In Norway, Mr. H. E. Berner, of Chris-
tiania, is not only the best authority on the company
system, but also one of its most ardent exponents. He
is the authority for saying that '* a great mass of
abstainers have vigorously united in supporting a
proposition recently formulated by a royal commis-
sion, which does not advocate abolishing the compa-
nies, but would grant them a complete monoply of all
sales of spirits." He also says that " the regulations
of the companies must be regarded as having worked
successfully, and contributed greatly to restrict drunk-
enness, while the profits have generally been devoted
to the promotion of enlightenment, morality, and
proper social spirit." Much capital has been made out
of the passage of a resolution at the annual session of
the Norwegian Grand Lodge of Good Templars in
1893 which was unfavorable to the company system.
The fact has since transpired that this slipped through
without the full knowledge of the meeting, an.:' the
committee on resolutions has since refused to acknowl-
edge it.

Mr, Lars O. Jensen, who is one of the most promi-
nent members of the order, and at present Right
Worthy Grand Templar for Norway, the representa-
tive of the society to the recent International Alcoholic
Congress at the Hague, and the editor for Norway of the
" Internationale Monatschrift," thus writes (his letter is
in my possession) concerning the maiier in question:

rni: c(jmi'anv system.

*' This resolution is now, I think, j^enerally considered
a mistake, even among the Oood Templars tlieniselves.
An old temperance man who is very much opposed to
the company system sent a letter to the meeting ask-
ing it to adopt the said resolution, which it did. The
resolution condemned the system in that it declared
that it had failed to materially decrease the consump-
'■inn of alcoholic liquors. This same old gentleman
wrote to the annual meetings of the Norwegian Total
Abstinence Society and the Blue Ribbon Army, but
at these meetings no such resolution was carried. As to
the attitude of the representative temperance men, I
refer you to my paper read before the International
Alcoholic Congress at the Hague in 1890. I do think
that they almost unanimously favor the company
system as against individual licensing, and in this very
year (1894) they have done their utmost to have the
company system more fully carried out through the
law just passed by Parliament." Mr. Sven Aarres-
tad, a member of the Norwegian Parliament and
editor of the official organ of the Norwegian Total
Abstinence Society, has also shown his good feeling
by assisting Mr. Berner in passing the new amend-
ments to the Norwegian law which will enable the
companies to operate more effectively. The attitude
of such influential spokesmen of the temperance
parties of Sweden and Norway will be deemed by any
rational man as fairly conclusive test-ni'-ny. It must
not be supposed that total abstaintio are completely
satisfied with the plan. They believe, however, that it
is the best means of progressive advance, and their
eftbrts are directed to reforms in matters of detail
rather than to changing the principle. They believe
that the educational influence of the regime will, in the

7«

Tin: f.lorOK IKAI'I'IC.

I ;

course of time, make prohibition a possibility. Messrs.
Berner and Aarrestad, particularly, are positive in
their statements that the company system is not a hin-
drance, but a help to ultimate prohibition. Mr. Herner
writes, " This view seems also to be acknowledged by
the Norwej^ian Total Abstinence Society with its
100,000 members, for at its great annual meeting at
Christiania last August the warmest thanks were
officially voted to Mr. Aarrestad and mysf^lf for having
done our best in passing the new law to more fully
carry out the company system." The present efforts
of the Scandinavian temperance parties are directed
particularly towards divorcing the sale of beer from
that of all other merchandise, extending the company
monopoly to cover fermented as well as spirituous bev-
erages, and changing the law so that after a certain
number of years it will be illegal to sell any drink con-
taining more than 25 percent, of alcohol.

12, The highest police and administrative officials,
as well as foreign and consular diplomatic reprefcentci-
tives, have almost unanimously testified in favor of the
company system. The former characterize the differ-
ence between the individual licensing plan of previous
years and the present regime as " the ciiffereace
between night and day." The one noteworthy excep-
tion to the favorable views of consular officers is found
in the superficial and misleading report of Mr. T.
Mitchell, the British Consul-General at Christiania.
This report precipitated an event which speaks vol-
umes for favorable public opinion in Norway. The
press teemed with protests, and Mr. Berner was
requested by the Norwegian Minister for Home Affairs
to prepare an official answer, which was later trans-
mitted to the British Foreign Office. Mr. Berner's

TIIK COMI'AW s\.sri:M.

reply is coiiiplt.'te, and eltcctiially (lls})()ses of tlic ^ros-s
misrepresentation ot facts whicli Mr. Mitcliell's rt port
contained. The Minister for Home Atfairs liimself
forwarded a letter of denial to Councillor U. M.
Stevenson, of Glasgow, wliicii was published in the
//«?/'«/(/ of that city under the date of April 25th 1893.
No further notice, 1 think, nt-ed be accorded Mr.
Mitchell's misleading report, except to remark that
when a document is officially repudiated directly by
one government and indirectly by another, in addi-
tion to being protested against by the writer's resident
compatriots, it is high time that all who prize fairness
and uprightness in controversy should cease quoting it.
13. An undeniably strong evidence of the efficiency
of the Scandinavian method of controlling the liquor
traffic is, that no single community which has ev( r
fried it has afterwards abandoned it. An attempt has
been made by unfriendly critics to turn this argument
into an admission that the system once introduced
cannot be gotten rid of or replaced by anything better.
This is a gross perversion of facts. The system
remains because communities have found it such a
vast improvement on the old individual licensing plan.
Publicly expressed approval of leading temperance
reformers, indeed of all intelligent classes, as has been
already shown, amply proves our contention. It is
certainly a open question whether local prohibition
under a locai option system as we understand it would
do better in any of the larger communities of Scandi-
navia, given existing views and contemporary social
conditions; but the tiew law of Norway — which for th^^
first time in Scandinavia gives adults over 25 years o(
age, including women, the right to vote directly on
the question of license — will soon answer the hypo-
thetical objection raised.

<So

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

14. Under the new Norwe^^ian law of 1894 the pen-
alties for drunkenness have been increased. Hitherto
there has been great diversity in local regulations
dealing with the offense. At present it looks as if
wiser social policy in relation to the victims of drink is
about to be inaugurated in Norway than exists any-
where else. A royal commission on the reform of the
penal law has drafted a new general measure on intoxi-
cation, features of v/hich will be compulsory isolation
of habitual drunkards in special institutions, and per-
mitting the appointment of administrators on their
property as in the case of the insane.

There are certain disadvantages, arising chiefly from
defects in the law, not from maladministration. For
these the companies are in nowise responsible.

1. The company mont poly does not extend far
enough. In order to achieve a maximum of benefit,
fern^ented beverages must also be included. As has
already been pointed out in the discussion of the
causes of drunkenness during recent years, one effect
of restraining spirit-drinking has been greater con-
sumption of beer. This is all the more serious since
women drink it to a considerable extent, whereas only
rarely are they consumers of spirits. Beer, too, is
brewed much stronger than formerly. Lack of control
over the manufacture and sale of beer is a serious
drawback. Fortunately, this is so generall}' recog-
nized that we may expect an early change of policy
in both Sweden and Norway.

2. A second legal defect is that, at present, the bottle
trade in wine and beer in tov/ns and country distri'tj
is conducted in connection with general business and
without special license. This privilege is bound soon
to be abrogated. It is greatly to the credit of the

THE COMPANY SYSTEM.

companies that more than half of them in Norway have
acquired control of the bar trade in beer. They liave
done this voluntarily and at considerable financial
loss. The present law does not permit companies to
monopolize more than the bar trade.

3. A serious delect in Norwegian practice until the
law of 1894 was that the limit of wholesale sales was
fixed far too low. Swedish policy \v this regard has
been much better. Norwegian statistics show that
about three-fifths of all the liquors sold in that country
have been presumably for home consumption. The
limit (ioJ^2 gallons) was sufficiently low to permit
grocers to sell spirits to their customers at a minimum
figure, and cheaper than the companies' rates. They
could do this because only a general business license
was required to dispose of spirits at wholesale. Spirits
sold in this way were exempt from the regular muni-
cipal tax of about 14 cents per gallon. Wholesale
sales also represented consumption in country districts
where prohibition prevails. People there clubbed
together and purchased casks of ioj4 gallons. Divid-
ing the contents was not illegal provided the money
was collected before the liquor was bought.

The law of 1894 makes many beneficent changes.
The wholesale minimum is raised to 66 gallons as in
vSvveden. Further concessions of wholesale privileges
to distillers and to regular business firms are debarred,
and those already possessing them are obliged to pay a
largely enhanced and progressively advancing tax,
calculated in the near future to reach double the
present proportions. Disposal of spirits by grocers
and other business firms is also checked. There can
henceforth be no division of the contents of a barrel
among several customers on the spot, because the

THE LIOUOR TRAI'-I'IC.

whole quantity — 66 gallons as a minimum — must be
delivered in one cask to a single buyer and none of it
may be consumed on the premises. The size of the
amount required to make the lowest wholesale pur-
chase — $84 — will materially prevent evasions of the
intent of the law.

The new law is the outcome of the labors of a royal
commission appointed in 1888. Partisans of the exist-
ing system, no less than advanced temperance advo-
cates, have cordially worked to secure wise modifica-
tions. The potent influence exercised by the companies
in favor ot reform is a significant testimony to their
sense of moral guardianship of public interests.

4. Defects in the Swedish as distinguished from the
Norwegian method may be summarized as follows :

(a) Less perfect governmental supervision over the
business of the companies than exists in Norwa> — a
fact which is responsible for neglect of public interests
in a few places, chiefly smaller towns.

(d) Permitting the sale of beer and spirits on the
same premises, .^nd in general allowing employees to
reap pecuniary benefits from the former.

(^) Permitting, even under existing restrictions, the
sale of spirits on Sundays and holidays.

5. A drawback which rarely appears, but which
fairness compels me to mention, is that in a few
instances the question of profits has been made unde-
niably conspicuous. These are indeed notable excep-
tions to the well-nigh universal rule. Attention is
called to their existence in order to make more appar-
ent the contrast. The danger can be easily averted
by arranging for a strong system of central supervi-
sion. It is safe to say that the alertness of temperance
sentiment in England and the United Stales would

THE COMPANY SYSTEM.

8-.

not permit of the smallest evil of this sort. A triennial
referendum, as proposed in the i^.Iassachusetts bill,
would keep every company up to its professions.

Certain radical temperance reformers, not satisfied
with evolutionary advance, express the fear that the
company system may please too well and that it may
become a permanency. Such people should re-read
the fable of che dog- with a bone who saw his shadow
in the stream. We have seen already that Messrs.
Berner, Aarrestad and other temperance leaders
regard the Scandinavian method as i.he precursor to
something better still when society shall have been
fitted to receive it.* So also do all well-informed
persons, no matter of what shade of opinion, reject the
notion that liquor-selling has been made more respect-
able under the company regime. Individual testimony
is peculiarly positive on this point, and besides, numer-
ous evidences exist in support of the view. One alone
need be cited, as in itself it is fairly conclusive. It
refers to decline in the bar-trade. In Gothenburg the
quantity of spirits sold over the bar in 1874 represented
a consumption of 11.3 quarts per head of population ;
in 1892 it was 5.1 quarts, considerably less than half.
In Stockholm the appropriate figures are 14.61 quarts
during the first year of the company's operations, and
6.49 quarts for 1892. In the Norwegian cities of
Bergen and Christianssand the same phenomena are
apparent. The record for the former in 1877 was 2.5
quarts per inhabitant ; in 1892 1.7 quarts. P'or the
latter 1.34 quarts in 1872, and 0.63 quart twenty

*See, in this connection, the Rev. D. N. Eeacli's account of
an interview with Mr. IJerner in August, 1S94, given in an
article, "The Norwegian System in its Home," in The Ne^u
England Magazine for February, 1895.

Till': r.IOUOR TRAFFIC.

years later. Returns from smaller towns in the two
countries teach the same lesson.

The late Mr. Thomas M. Wilson, whose 35 years of
residence in Norway entitled him to speak authorita-
tively, said, " No persons of the better class would
dream of goin^^ into a company's bar, and the respect-
able working class, desirous of maintaining their posi-
tion, avoid them like poison. The fact that customers
are subjected to control and may be refused supply at
the discretion of the barkeeper, has stamped the com-
pany's bars, in the opinion of all classes, as something
of a reformatory nature, and they are avoided by all
with any pretensions to respectability and self-respect."
Dr. Wieselgren is equally positive, averring that when
one meets with the assertion that the Scandinavian
method has made liquor-drinking respectable, one
may safely reply that " suci. has not been the case in
Sweden and Norway : the possibility of it is to us an
incomprehensible suggestion." The chief of the
Good Templars of Norway, Mr. Lars O. Jensen, says:
*' When the Gothenburg system was introduced it was
feared that this system would throw an air of respect-
ability about the drinking customs. This has not
been so. On the contrary, it is regarded as a far
greater shame to enter a company shop than to enter
an ordinary drink-shop."

Reduced drinking at the bar has not been accom-
panied with increased consumption at home. The
figures for retail sale show also a decline, though not
in the iiAniC proportion.

The pith ot the w hole matter resides here. In the
present stag': of r.ocial developi/ent no system can be
devised v^h,,'}; will conpletely eradicate the evils to
which tlte d-'ink-tratific neces-sarily gives rise ; but

rill-: COMPANY' s^'STI•:M.

wherever spirits are allowed to be inanufactiired and
sold, the Scandinavian method of control is the only
practical one to adopt. The justice of this assertion is
made clear by reference to the experience of the
United States, which has been a peculiarly fertile field
of experiinent. This experience I have fully related
in the Forum for November, 1894, and its salient
features are here reproduced.

In seven American commonwealths what is known
as prohibition is the prevailing form of control. This
term indicates 'withdrawing the ri^ht to manufacture
and sell spirituous and malt beverages from domiciled
residents within the borders. In ihe sense in which it
is incorporated in American practice, further regulation
of individual conduct is not attempted. A man may
buy liquor in another State and have k shij)ped to
him, provided it is destined for his own [.rivaf^ use.
StUl more, he may purchase it surreptitiously from a
fellow-resident without rendering l.imself li.' ble to
punishment. It is the manufacturer and the seller, not
the consumer of drink, who are placed under the ban.
Prohibition is now the law of seven States — ? aine,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa, Kansas, orth
Dakota and South Dakota. Four of these— iaine,
Kansas, and thetwo Dakotas — have prohibition amend-
ments to their constitutions. Prohibition h - been
enacted and afterward abandoned in Delaw;'' c Rhode
Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Indiana, xt braska,
New York, Illinois and Ohio.

All the States in which prohi'/itory legislation obtains
to-day are relatively sparsely populated. The largest
urban community in any of them is the citv of Des
Moines, Iowa, which contains 50,093 people, a. ^Jrding
to the last census. But it is in large cities where the

TFIE LIOUOR TRAFFIC.

liquor traffic is hardest to control. Therefore it
seems perfectly fair to make answer to the friends of-
prohibition, that the soundness of their views has not
been rendered sufficiently apparent from practical
experiments. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York,
Illinois and Ohio are States containing- large city popu-
lations, and these have abandoned legal prohibition.

The chief difficulty with all Restrictive measures
directed against social vices is to secure their enforce-
ment — or, indeed, their moderate obj^ervance — in
urban centres. People should take account of this,
remembering that virtue can never be inculcated by
legal enactment. Its springs are in the human heart,
and before they will flow they must be struck with the
rod of a quickened intelligence. Marching too far in
advance of public sentiment always renders success
problematical. Depositing the ballot is too often
accompanied on our part by a thrill of satisfaction that
duty has been done, whereas it should be understood
as having been only just begun. We should reflect
that a majority vote for prohibition establishes a new
legal misdemeanor, and that unless there is hearty and
effective co-operation to secure enforcement, dam-
age is more likely to be done than good accomplished.
Disrespect for law is the most dangerous of all things
under a democratic form of government ; and those
who assist in making laws which for one reason or
another cannot be enforced, assume weighty respon-
sibilities.

The control of the liquor traffic is a moral and social
question and has no place in the arena of politics. It
is greatly to be feared that making prohibition a
political issue has compelled the liquor interests to
seek political means of defense. But whatever the

THE COMPAXV SYSTEM.

cause, the result has been an alhance with the domi-
nant party, or tlie lower elements of both political
parties, which has dej^^raded American politics to the
lowest depths,.

Another favorite American method <A' dealing with
the liquor traffic has been through local option. This,
by many, is called prohibition in its more rational
form. The advantages claimed are that the limited
area to which it applies renders its introduction easier.
There is not only a strong local feeling behind it, but
concentration of attention upon a limited territory with
a greater likelihood of rigorous enforcement. Again,
the movement advances slowly, and ground once
gained rarely has to be surrendered. Local option
represents evolutionary advance, whereas prohibition
is cataclysmic.

Opponents of local option enumerate aujongst its
drawbacks —

1. That drinking is made a local question, whereas
it ought to be considered from a national point of
view.

2. The ethical basis of the problem is lowered to
that of mere expediency.

3. It has only been successful in practice in country
districts, and then at the expense of adjoining neigh-
borhoods.

Local option has been tried in several States. Better
results seem to have been achieved in Massachusetts
than elsewhere. In several of the Southern States, also,
a feeling of satisfaction with its operation has been
expressed, though generally the areas to which it has
been confined are almost exclusively country districts.
The experiences of Michigan and Missouri give a
reverse side to the picture. In the former common-

TtIF, IJOUOK TKAM-IC.

wealth an important contention of critics seems to have
been jnstitiecl. The ratio ot' licenses lo population in
areas not uiider local option increased during the last
census-period 8 per cent.

Hi^h license is the method most in favor for large
cities where restrictive measures have been i/ractised
at all. Advocates claim that it is the only effective
forn of control as demonstrated by experience. It
may be applied to places where prohibition ai\d local
option would both fail, and it reduces 4ie nun.ber of
public-houses within measurable limits, both as to
number and geographical situation.

It is true that, where a really high-license fee has
been charged, dram-shops have notably decreai<ed.
I ci Omaha, in 1881, the license fee was raised from
$100 ir ^looo. At tkat time the ratio of licenses to
population was i to 267. In 1891 it was i to 600
The experience of St. Paul is almost equally signifi-
cant. During the six years from 1886 to 1892, when
a similar change -ok place, the ratio of licenses to
population declined from i to 152 to i for 368. In
Philadelphia results have been even more remarkable.
Previous to the enactment of the Brooks law in 1888
there was i license to every 160 inhabitants. In 1891
the proportion was i to 600. This favorable statistical
showmg, be it noted, applies to three States where the
license fee is fixed at $1000. Other high-license cities
require only $500, and it is undeniably true that no such
conspicuously useful results have there been attained.
There seems to be somewhere a normal limit of
efficiency, and whenever the sum charged is below the
line the useful effects of control are lessened.

Perhaps the most effective form of high-license pre-
vails in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. To my mind

Till' ((t.MPANV SYSTEM.

there are two reasons lor this. In the tirst-named
State, while the number of permits is not hniited by
law, complete discretion is vested in the licensinj^ com-
mission, which is constituted of jud,L;;es in courts of
secondary instance. Massachusetts has recoiuse to
limitation, Boston bein^ allowed i license to every 500
of population, and every other city or town i license to
every 1000 persons. Legal limitation of number, and
especially a high-class commission of judges, are
features which should accompany every high-license
regime.

Opponents of this plan dispute the fact that it has
been much of a success anywhere. They assert that
it forges more closely the alliance between liquor
and politics. Licensing boards have usually a distinct
political element in their composition, so that in the
distribution of privileges political bummers may be
properly looked after. Furthermore, it is alleged that
consolidation of liquor interests more readily occurs
and "tied houses" become substitutes for individual
taprooms. Finally, those who take the high ground
that license fees represent blood-mone}^ so to speak,
contend that enhanced revenues are a salve to the con-
science of the weak-kneed brother and lessen his prac-
tical interest in the suppression of liquor-drinking.

The latest form of experiment is that inaugurated
by South Carolina under the law ot December 24, 1892.
The constitutionality of this measure has recently
been affirmed by the Supreme Court of the State.
Private liquor-selling is abolished, and a State dispen-
sary system substit'ited. At least one of these dispensa-
ries is opened in e\t?ry county not under local option,
and in the cities ot Charleston and Columbia more are
provided for. A State bo-ird of control, composed of the

Tin: i.ioroK TKAII-IC.

governor, comptroller-general, and attorney-general,
is the highest business authority. A State commis-
sioner, who is believed to be an abstainer, is appointed
by this body, as well as county boards of control,
whicli are composed of three members serving for two
years, and who are likewise teetotallers. Dispensaries
are opened by the county boards of control upon
motion of a majority of freehold voters. The State
commissioner purchases the licpiors (under a saving
political clause which gives preference to manufacturers
and brewers doing business in the State), and the
State chemist analyses the beverages to see if they
are pure. They are then done up in packages vary-
ing from five gallons to one half-pint in size, shipped
to the county dispensaries, and sold at prices not
exceeding 50 per cent profit. Considerable formality
is required in the purchase of drink. The dispenser
must demand of his would-be client a written or
printed request, properly dated, stating the age and
residence of the signer for whose use the liquor is
requested, as well as the quantity and kind required.
The certificate is then attested and put on file.

At first glance one would think that a law which
lengthened the time between drinks would not be very
popular with a South Carolina governor. The present
incumbent, however, in his last annual message, urges
the following claims in support of his dispensaiy
system :

" I. The element of personal profit is destroyed,
thereb)' removing the incentive to increased sales.

" 2. A pure article is guaranteed, and it is subject
to chemical analysis.

" 3. The consumer obtains honest measure of stand-
ard streny til.

THK COMPANY SVSTKM.

((

4. Treatinii^^ is stopped, as the bottles are not
opened on the premises.

" 5. It is sold only in the daytime.

"6. The concomitants of ice, sut^ar, lemons, etc.,
being removed, there is not the same inclination to
drink remaining. The closing ot* the pul)lic house,
especially at night, and the prohibition of sale by the
drink, destroy the inducements and seductions which
have caused so many men and boys to be led astray
and enter on the downward course.

"7. It is sold only for cash, and there is no longer
chalking up for daily drinks against pay-day. The
workingman buys his bottle of whiskey on Saturday
night, and carries the rest of his wages home.

" 8. The local whiskey-rings, which have been a
curse to every municipality in the State, and have
always controlled municipal elections, have been torn
up root and branch, and the influence of the barkeeper
as a political manipulator is absolutely destroyed.
The police, removed from the control of this debauch-
ing element, will enforce the law against evildoing
with more vigor, and a higher tone and greater purity
in all governmental affairs must result."

Were the history of this unique measure not so well
known, the contentions of Governor Tillman might be
more generally accepted. It is a fact that the plan
had its origin in an effort to raise revenue, not in a virtu-
ous desire to reduce the consumption of drink. Pro-
hibitionists were cajoled into its support by promises
that the coming enactment would be a stepping-stone
to their ideal. It is much to be feared that the local
whiskey-rings which the governor denounces ma\ give
place to a State politico-liquor machine. The claim
that the consumer will obtain an honest measure of

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Hiotographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. I4S80

(716) 872-4503

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•sj

THE LIQUOR TKArFIC.

Ci i

di'nk, standard in strength and quality, may have
local grounds for favor, but one can hardly accept it
as possessing great moral weight. Taking away from
the tippler his ice, his lemons and his sugar may be
a hardship ; but it is not a positively reformatory
measure — the shadow departs, but the substance
remains. But selling only in the daytime and for cash,
the abolition of treating, weeding-out gambling-dens
and other immoral concomitants of the saloon, are
undoubted advantages.

In the minds of many people there has been an absurd
confounding of this South Carolina experiment with
the Scandinavian system of controlling the liquor
traffic. Points of similarity do exist, but modes of
operation and effects are quite different. The cardinal
principle of the South Carolina plan is State monopoly
of all sale of drink ; that of the Norwegian is local con-
trol through commercial companies, organized often
by the best and most patriotic citizens, who renounce
all profits and take merely the ordinary rate of interest
on the small amount of capital invested. Wherein
both of the plans agree, and where both, in my judg-
ment, strike at the root of the whole matter, is in
eliminating private profit from liquor-selling. But here
the parallel almost ceases. The local companies in
Norway engage in the traffic in order that they may
control it and restrict it until such time as municipalities
may do away with 1 icensing for liquor-selling altogether.
So well has their aim succeeded that the vast majority
of the inhabitants of the Scandinavian peninsula are
today under a " no-license" regime. In South Caro-
lina the profits go to the State, and the very concep-
tion of the measure reposes on the idea of relief to
taxpayers. Indeed, Governor Tillman apologetically

THE COMPANY SYSTEM.

remarks that the revenues are not yet as high as they
will be. A State monopoly makes liquor-selling a
part of the machinery of the government, and there-
fore gives to it a more or less permanent existence.
The essence of the other plan is liberty to abolish the
traffic whenever a community is ready, but, in the
meantime, to regulate it so that the least possible
damage may be done. Another most significant dif-
ference between the two systems is that State dispen-
saries involve regulation of the traffic by political
appointees. In Norway every vestige and semblance
ot political influence is eliminated. Indeed, to my
mind the absolute separation which has been practi-
cally efTected between liquor and politics is a conspi-
cuous merit. Again, Scandinavian control brings
about progressive reform by educating public opinion.
The South Carolina plan, being nearly prohibitive in
character, is a measure too far in advance of public
opinion to be accepted and enforced to-day.

The minor points of similarity represent borrowings
from Scandinavian practice. They include reduction
in the number of places of sale, early closing, selling
only for cash, and furnishing pure liquor. Presumably,
also, gambling and immorality are divorced from dis-
pensaries, as they are in every instance from the com-
pany's liquor-shops in Sweden and Norway. The
South Carolina plan ofifers avenues of political inter-
ference and possibilities of corrupt exploitation.
Revenue and partisan convenience may easily become
dominant motives. In these vital features it must be
distinguished from the Scandinavian system, from
which it is often popularly and erroneously supposed
to have borrowed its main features.

Notwithstanding the variety of American experi-
ments in controlling the drink traffic, results show in a

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

l'-

general way that practically nothing has been accom-
plished. In 1850 the consumption of all kinds of
liquor averaged 4.08 gallons per inhabitant ; in 1892
it was 17.04 gallons, considerably more than a fourfold
increase. During this period the consumption of
spirits diminished, it is true, from 2J to li gallons jt7(f;-
capUa, but beer-drinking shows an advance from 1.58
to 15.10 gallons per head of population. Wine-drink-
ing increased only slightly, viz., from 0.27 to 0.44
gallon per capita. Taking the year 1874 — chosen
because at that time the oldest Swedish company, ihe
Gothenburg, secured the licenses for the retail sales of
spirits in addition to the bar trade, which was conceded
it in 1865 — and making a comparison with the present,
the consumption of spirits and wines in the United
States has remained stationary, but beer-drinking has
very much more than doubled. It is true that during
the last half-century the United States has received
large accessions of populations from countries where
beer is the national beverage, and doubtless it will be
said that since spirit-drinking has not advanced it is
unfair to assume deterioration in habits. It must be
conceded, however, that no progress has been made.

There is another significant fact. Returns of the
prison population in the United States show an increase
of 358 persons per million inhabitants during the last
census-period. The advance has been greatest in the
North Atlantic division, which contains the largest city
populations. Exactly what proportion of criminality
springs from drink is a question which, so far, has not
been accurately determined. The best studies, how-
ever, go to show that tippling is a prolific source of
wrongdoing ; indeed, probably the most potent factor
in petty crime.

THE COiMPANY SYSTEM.

Here, then, is a summary of the situation. Prohibi-
tion, local option, State monopoly, high-license and
low-license, have been tried, and most of them during
long periods and in many parts of the country.

The consumption of liquor has increased and the
prison population is rapidly advancing.

The proportion of licenses to inhabitants in large
cities often now attains disgraceful proportions. In
the 257 largest cities the ratio of saloon licenses to
inhabitants is i to 250.

The alliance between liquor and politics is being
drawn closer and closer.

There remain three leading alternatives in future
action.

1. Hopelessly to give up the struggle, at least for
the present, and allow the evil to become unendurable,
trusting to a great wave of moral enthusiasm to sweep
it entirely away. Municipalities exercise this method
to free themselves from political corruption, but it is
generally noticed that spasms of virtue come at longer
intervals, while relapses follow more speedily and are
more severe. Generally speaking, the last condition
of the patient is worse than the first. Such doctrines
are dangerous in the extreme. They cannot for one
moment be admitted in dealing with grave moral
issues, because ere long recuperative virtue would be

baucbed and silenced.

2. Great numbers of people, while candidly admit-
ting that present conditions are not satisfactory, are so
wedded to preconceived motions, or attached to a
narrow system, that they will not hear of moving out-
side of regulation methods. They are partisans of a
faith-cure such as prohibition at this time is,
when applied to large cities. More, perhaps, believe

.1
M

M
1.

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

in very mild homoeopathic treatment, and so recom-
mend high-license, forgetting that a consolidation of
liquor interests and the exercise of political favoritism
are necessary incidents thereto. Instead of removing
it, the impulse of private gain is stimulated by success
being rendered uncertain unless business is pushed
and resorts made seductive. No-license — or local
option, as it is usually called — cannot be successfully
enforced in the case of large municipalities unless there
is some adjacent community nearby upon which to
unload the burden. I doubt very much if Cambridge
could have shown such good results did not a bridge
span the stretch of water between it and Boston.

3. The third alternative is to study impartially the
liquor problem from all points of view, and adopt those
methods which have been proven most efficient in
practice as measures of progressive, if not ideal,
reform.

There has been formed recently, with headquarters
in the city of New York, a national Committee of
Fifty on the study of the liquor problem. Distin-
guished men in clerical, professional, academic and
business stations, representing all shades of opinion,
are banded together with the sound determination to
probe the matter rationally and thoroughly. The very
names of Presidents Seth Low, Eliot, Oilman, and
Andrews; Doctors Billings, Welch, Bowditch, and
Chittenden ; Bishops Potter and Vincent, Fathers
Doyle and Conaty, and the Reverend Doctors Mun-
ger, Peabody, and Felix Adler; Francis A.Walker,
Carroll D. Wright, William E. Dodge, W. Byard
Cutting, and Robert Treat Paine, are a guarantee of
sincere purpose and determined aim. When such
men as these and twenty-nine others scarcely less

THE COMPANY SYSTEM.

distinguished surrender time and attention and con-
tribute money and effort to the work, it does not seem
unreasonable to hope for good results. Gauj^ing tlie
attitude of fellow-members by a personal standard, no
question could be approached with greater earnest-
ness. Four leading sub-committees will investigate
the physiological and pathological effects of alcohol
upon the human system, the legislative status of
the drink traffic and the success attending various
forms of control, economic phases with relation to
crime, pauperism, industrial efficiency, and finally,
ethical aspects in their broadest extensions. When
results are reached and published, the American
people will have data for judgment which have never
existed before. To my mind, one reason why so little
solid advance has hitherto been made is that the liquor
problem has been largely dealt with from the stand-
point of sentiment. Sentiment is undoubtedly a tre-
mendous force, '^ut, like other motive- powers, unless
usefully directed, no progress can be made. A loco-
motive with furnace blazing and lever drawn may
remain at a complete standstill. It must have a track
upon which to run if ground is to be traversed and a
goal reached. Now, this national Committee of Fifty,
if it does nothing else, will certainly lay a track.

In the meantime, thoughtful people in the United
States are turning to the Scandinavii'n method as the
best and safest means of control. The publication in
1893 of the official report which the writer had the
honor to make to the United States Department ot
Labor struck a responsive chord. The first edition,
numbering several thousand, v\as speedily exhausted.
The distribution record of this public document dis-
closed the gratifying fact that a very huge propor-
tion of applicants belonged to the Christian ministry.

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

A little over a year ago, Massachusetts, which has
always taken the lead amongst American States in
industrial ;.nd social reform, began lo evince signs of
particular interest. A committee of propaganda com-
posed of many of the most influential citizens was
formed. In this body clergymen of various denomi-
nations were liberally represented. Indeed, a p .' ,-
lished list of one hundred of the most prominent expo-
nents shows more than one-fourth to be ministers.
The governor appointed a strong legislative commis-
sion to study the question and report a bill. The
measure was discussed in the Legislature last spring,
but was finally defeated, principally because of the
liquor interest, in combination with a few misguided
prohibitionists, by one vote. Considering the brief
time a measure of such great public importance had to
become known and properly understood, it is felt that
a great moral victory has been achieved and that final
""ocess ac an early date is reasonably certain.

An encouraging feature of the Massachusetts agita-
tion is that the hearty co-operation of many of the
more intelligent prohibitionists has been enlisted.
The chairman of the State prohibition committee and
their candidate for Governor in 1890, declared publicly
that it seemed to him *' wiser to encourage than to
antagonize the movement." Mrs. Mary A. Livermore,
the world-renowned champion of woman's progress and
a consistent temperance advocate, wrc'., " First, last,
and always, I am a prohibitionist, and I favor the
Norwegian bill because, if righteously administered,
its tendency will be towards prohibition, and if our
good temperance people would carefully study the
bill I thinly their objections would disappear. I hope
the bill will pass."

THE COMI'ANV SVSTF.M.

Such unqualified endorsements — many more might
be quoted— from great leaders in the radical temperance
party ought to canst persons of similar views eveiy-
where to hesitate before assuming a hostile attitude.
Absolutely no sacrifice of principle is demanded The
end is the same ; the way of reaching it, if longer, is
surer and safer to travel.

The liquor interest is bound to fight the Scandina-
vian plan to the last, for with them it is a struggle of
life and death. Promoters of public weal will favor it.
The prohibitionists, if they do not positively hold the
balance of power, are at least a potent factor in the con-
test. There are numerous instances in the past where
this high-minded, self-sacrificing element of the com-
munity have been found in alliance with rumsellers to
defeat conservative measures of control. While such
an attitude involves censure, abuse should be spared.
The error has been in judgment, not in motive. What
organized bodies of abstainers will do for or against
the introduction of the Scandinavian plan is a most
important question. Will they help the liquor interest
to defeat the scheme and then retire to the hilltop to
invoke the judgment of Heaven on all concerned in the
traffic ; or will they conceive the truer mission of
responsibility for the wisest practicable management of
this weighty social matter?

Helping along the company system is wise policy as
well as a humanitarian act. He must be very obtuse
who cannot understand that one or two generations
passed with restricted consumption, diminished drunk-
enness, fewer temptations to drink, and a wholesome
offsetting of the impulses to indulgence by the crea-
tion of better social centres for the poor, the best of all
vantage-grounds for ultimate annihilation of abuse will

TFlr. T.IQUOR TRAFFIC.

be reached. Countries are jjroanin^ under the liquor
curse. Does it not behoove all well-disposed people
to cast aside prejudice in order to ^ain substantial
betterment? Let not the attitude of abstainers in
relation to controlling^ the " unholy thin^ " any longer
savor of the conduct of the priest and tht Levite —
passinc^ by on the other side.

It is no part of m> present purpose to find fault. I
wish only to appeal. This volume has been written in
the hope of contributing^ to public enlightenment, and
so furthering the laudable ends which the Bishop of
Chester and his distinguished associates have in view
for England ; and likewise in the hope that aid might be
given similar workers in Massachusetts, whose public-
spirited undertaking will accomplish great good not
only for their own State, but also for the whole
country. Personally, I believe profoundly in the sys-
tem, because it operates educationally, and not solely
by force of law. I grant it is not an ideal to those who
look upon every sort of alcoholic drinking as unfortu-
nate or wrong, but it furnishes the surest path of
progress. The true ideal is as far ueyond this system
as it is beyond prohibition maintriined by police power :
an ideal which cannot be attained until the moral
nature of man shall have been so renovated that he
will instinctively or rationally shun all resort to evil,
and make wise use of everything with which he comes
in contact. As a means of education towards so lofty
a standard, the Scandinavian plan presents superior
advantages. Powerful object-lessons awaken the intel-
ligence and move the heart. Best of all, it offers a
common meeting-ground where radical and conserva-
tive exponents of temperance may join hands with
simple wellwishers of the race, to advance momentous
human interests.

INDKX.

Alcdholic content of spirits, lo, 55,

73-
American experience, ^5-95.
Audit of accounts, 38, 32.

l:.ir-tra<le, 10.

liars, 16-17.

Heer, Sale of, lo, 19, 23, 4!, 78, 80.

nerpen —

t'apital stock, ao.

Company's sales, 54.

Ljicnses, 63,

Net surplus profits, 20.

Total consumption of spirits, 55.
I'onus to nianaRers, -.'3.
I'y-laws of companies, 15, 22; in
advance of law, 16, 23, 73.

Capital stock, 14, 20, 56.
Cliccks on companies, 15, 73.
Christiania —

Capital stock, 14, 20.

( 'ompany's sales, 53.

(Compensation, 51-52.

Licenses in private hands, 52.

Net surplus prolits, 20.

Shareholders, 13
Cliristianssand, 56-59.
Civi<: greed, 28, 30, 74-75.
Clubs, 25.

Consumption of beer, 20, 41, 65, 94,
Consumpt )n of spirits —

Decrf se of, 34-42, 83,

Extra .oral, 45-46.

at Christimssand, 56, 57, 59.

" Bergen, 54, 55.

" Gothenljiirg, 43, 45.

" Stockholm, 47, 48, 49.

in Norway, 36-39.

" Sweden, 35-36.
('rime, 67, 94.

Dispensary system —

Advantages claimed for, 90-91.

Not to be confounded with Scan-
dinavian system, 92-93.

Origin of, 91.

South Carolina, 89.
Distilling, 9, 10, 36.
Drunkenness, Arrests for, 64.

Decrease of, 65-66.

Resulting froin beer-drinking, 65.

Early closing, 17-18, 73.

Kating-houRcs, 17, ly, (q.
Education, 68.

Employees ol companies, a-.;-23, 7.).
Entert.iinnient of the people, 18-19,

69.
Excise, I,aw of, la.
Extent of system, la.
Extra local consumption, 44-46, 55 50.

Food, Provision of, 17, 23.

("lambliiip, 36, 37, 72, i)2.
(lOod T<:mpl;irs, 76-77.
CotlHMiburg —

Capital stock, -O.

Decreased consumption, 45.

Licenses, 61.

Surplus i)rofits, 20.

Table of company's sales, 43.

Habitual drunkards, 24, 80.

High license, 88.

Home consumption of spirits, 8(.

Hotels, 25.

Hours of Ijusiness, 16, 17, 18, 57, 74.

Immorality, a6, 27, 72, 92.

Inspectors, 24,

Interest to shareholders, 13.

Kindergartens, 68.

Legal defects of system, 80-81.
Licenses —

Disposal of, II 13.
to sell beer, 19, 63.
Ratio to population- Hergen, 0^ >
Christians'and, 63; Christi-
ania, 63; Ciotlrenburg, 61;
Stockholm, T.a ; Norway, 60;
Sweden, 60; United States, 95.
Reduction of, 16, 71-72.
Licensing atithorities, 11.

" periods, 15,

Local option, 87.

Man.ngers' salaries, 22, 23.

Massachusetts — elTort to introduce
Norwegian system, 100.

Minors, Sale> to, 123, 73. 6,

Mitchell, Report of Consul, 78.

Monopoly of trade essential to suc-
cess, 53.

102

INDEX.

Norway —

Capital stock of companies, 30.
I)ecr';av;il congiunption of spir-
its, 36-39.
Net surplus profits, ao.

Pauperism, 66-67,

I'olitics and litiuor trafTur, 71, 86, 89.

I'ricf lists, 16,

Priviite profit, Eliiiiination of, 13,38,

39. 70'
Profits, Amount of, ao, a8, 39.
Profits, l^istrihiition of—

Kinlatid, 33.

Norway, 13,37-28, 67, 83.

Sweden, 27-39,
Prohibition, 11, 12, 85 87,
Piohihitionisfs, 95, 9^-100.
Public authorities and companies,

15-16, a6.
Public opinion cfTectivc, 37.

Rational reform, 96.
Ueadinu rooms, 19.
Ready-money payments, 17.
Rc' rt-ation of the people, 69.
•* Respertable" dr.nking, 83-84.
Kcstaurants, 25.
Retail trade, 10. ^3, 47, 53. 54.
Kural districts, 11, 12, 38, 33.

spir

Saloons, Uses of, 68-69,

Shares, 13-13.

Shareholders, 13-15.

South Carolina Dispensary La

89 93.
Stockholm —

Capital stock, 20,

Compeiisatio' 31, 49-51.

Decreased consumption of
its, 49.

Number of licenses, 63.

Sales by company, 47,

Surplus profits, 20,
Sul)-licensiiiK, 21, 2a, 25, 36, 75,
Sunday-clos'HK, 73.
Sweden, Consumption of liquor in,
35-36.

'I'echniciil schools, 68.

Temperance party , Attitude of, 75-78,

83.
"The trade," Attitude of, '^g.
Total abstinenre bodies, 40-41, 75-83.

United Slates, Consumption of li()nor
in, 94.

Wholesale trade, 10, 81.
Wine, Sale of, 10, 19, 80-81.

Illf